本篇节选自EWN (Eyewitness News)，原标题为Saka and Bellingham Sparkle as England Crush Iran

England made a scintillating start to their World Cup campaign as Bukayo Saka and Jude Bellingham inspired a 6-2 rout of outclassed Iran in Monday's Group B opener in Doha.

在周一于多哈举行的B组首场比赛中，英格兰队在萨卡和贝林厄姆的帮助下以6-2大胜实力望尘莫及的伊朗队，为他们的世界杯之旅开了个好头。

scintillating：闪烁的；才气横溢的  A scintillating conversation or performance is very lively and interesting. 这里指英格兰的开场非常美妙

outclass：（水平）远远高于 If one thing outclasses another thing, the first thing is of a much higher quality than the second thing.

Saka and Bellingham were England's driving forces with dynamic displays that underlined their emergence as two of the game's brightest young stars. Bellingham, 19, shattered Iran's hopes of frustrating England when he rose to head his maiden senior international goal in the first half.

作为英格兰队的发动机，他们用充满活力的表现为我们展现了两颗足坛最闪亮新星的崛起。19岁的贝林厄姆在上半场首开纪录，粉碎了伊朗队击败英格兰队的希望。

driving force：驱动力，推动力

shatter：这里指粉碎 If something shatters your dreams, hopes, or beliefs, it completely destroys them.

Gareth Southgate's side were in sparkling form at the Khalifa International Stadium and goals from Saka and Raheem Sterling put them in complete control before half-time. Saka, 21, netted again after the interval and, although Mehdi Taremi struck twice for Iran, Marcus Rashford and Jack Grealish completed the demolition.

索斯盖特的球队在哈利法国际球场展现出极佳状态，萨卡和斯特林的进球让他们在上半场结束前就完全控制了比赛局面。21岁的萨卡在中场休息后再次破门，尽管塔雷米为伊朗梅开二度，但拉什福德和格拉利什的破门让比赛失去了悬念。

in sparkling form：状态极佳

demolition：破坏，毁坏 The demolition of a structure, for example, a building, is the act of deliberately destroying it, often in order to build something else in its place. 

There will be far sterner tests to come for England as they bid to win their first major trophy since the 1966 World Cup. But this was a welcome step in the right direction for Southgate, whose team arrived in Qatar on a six-match winless run that triggered scathing criticism of the Three Lions boss and his perceived negative tactics.

英格兰队将面临更加严峻的考验，因为他们希望赢得自1966年世界杯以来的首座重要奖杯。但这对索斯盖特来说可谓是朝正确方向迈出了可喜的一步。他的球队在到达卡塔尔前已连续六场未尝一胜，引发了外界对这位三狮军团主帅及其消极战术的尖锐批评。

scathing：尖锐的; 刻薄的 If you say that someone is being scathing about something, you mean that they are being very critical of it.

Just hours before kick-off, England revealed captain Harry Kane would not wear a rainbow-themed 'One Love' armband after the Football Association and several other European countries dropped their campaign in support of LGBTQ rights. Because the armband was not a FIFA-approved piece of kit, it was reported any player wearing it would be booked - a risk England were apparently unwilling to take.

就在开赛前几个小时，英格兰队透露继英足总和其他几个欧洲国家放弃了支持LGBTQ权利的活动后，其队长哈里·凯恩将不会佩戴彩虹主题的 “One Love”袖标。该袖标并不是国际足联认可的装备，据报道，任何坚持佩戴的球员都会被出示黄牌，而英格兰显然不愿意冒这个险。

The match also took place against the background of turmoil in Iran after months of female-led demonstrations sparked by the death in custody of Mahsa Amini, a 22-year-old woman of Kurdish origin who was arrested by the morality police in Tehran. Iran's players refused to sing their national anthem in apparent support for anti-government protesters.

这场比赛也是在伊朗国内的动荡局势下进行的。此前，22岁的库尔德女子玛莎·阿米尼被德黑兰的道德警察逮捕，并在拘留的过程中死亡，引发了为期数月的女性领导的示威活动。伊朗球员拒绝唱国歌，显然是为了支持反对政府的抗议者。

demonstration：这里指示威游行，示威集会 A demonstration is a march or gathering which people take part in to show their opposition to something or their support for something.