England dismantled Iran 6-2 in Doha to start the tournament with a comfortable win. Midfielder Jude Bellingham became their second-youngest goal scorer at the World Cup at the age of 19 years and 145 days. Only Michael Owen was younger than him at the 1998 World Cup in France. In addition, for the third time in history, England managed to score six goals in one game at a major tournament, following up their 6-1 win against Panama four years ago.
Bukayo Saka was undoubtedly one of the main figures in England's opening game. The Arsenal winger, currently the team top of the Premier League, scored twice and added twenty-three successful passes, including one crucial one, as well as winning five duels. It was a very good performance for the 21-year-old Saka.
See England vs Iran at Flashscore
It was the Netherlands who had a much tougher task against Senegal. The Dutch national team struggled for a long time against the Lions from Teranga and could only get over the line at the end. After goals from Cody Gakpo and Davy Klaasen, Louis van Gaal was able to celebrate his 38th win as manager, surpassing Dick Advocaat.
The Oranjes have traditionally relied on their midfielder Frenkie de Jong. As evidenced by his heatmap, the Barcelona man was virtually everywhere, and it was De Jong who planted the ball on Gakpo's head in the 84th minute, securing the key pass of the match.
See Senegal vs Netherlands at Flashcore
Monday's third match between the USA and Wales was played at Al Rajan and the 43,000 spectators saw arguably the best match of the tournament so far. The United States took the lead in the first half after a Timothy Weah goal. The Welsh Dragons were only woken up by the half-time break. Captain Gareth Bale then took responsibility, converting a penalty in the 82nd minute to level the score at 1-1.
It really was a game of two different halves. In the first one, Wales would have been happy that they did not concede more than one goal, in the second, the Americans were the ones on the back foot, and in this case, the 1-1 draw was a fair result.
See Wales vs USA at Flashscore
So that's that for Monday's events. Qatar Data will be here for you again tomorrow. Until then, enjoy life as much as you can, England fans.