Figures from the music world have been sharing their reaction after England won their opening World Cup qualifier against Iran 6-2 in Qatar.
Goals from Jude Bellingham, Bukayo Saka, Raheem Sterling, Marcus Rashford and Jack Grealish ensured Gareth Southgate’s side got off to a winning start at the Khalifa International Stadium.
Ahead of the game England, Wales and five other nations announced they will no longer wear ‘OneLove’ armbands at the tournament.
The armband was set to be worn by the captains of a number of countries at the tournament in support of LGBT+ rights. Homosexuality is illegal in Qatar, which hosts the tournament that began yesterday (November 20) and runs until December 18. But governing body FIFA revealed that it would consider sporting sanctions – including yellow cards – against any captain who wears the ‘OneLove’ armband, which has been deemed to be against the rules.
Despite that, the players did take the knee in a gesture against racism and inequality just before kick off.
Following England’s victory, Louis Tomlinson was one of the first to congratulate Gareth Southgate’s side.
“Unbelievable performance from England!! Loved that,” he wrote before adding: “Number 1 album and massive England win in the same week! Happy days!”
George Ezra also hailed their emphatic win, adding: “Let’s go @England#ItsComingHome,” alongside a video of him dressed in grass camouflage in which he also quoted the famous line from David Baddiel, Frank Skinner and The Lightning Seeds’ ‘Three Lions’.
Unbelievable performance from England!! Loved that
— Louis Tomlinson (@Louis_Tomlinson) November 21, 2022
Number 1 album and massive England win in the same week! Happy days!
— Louis Tomlinson (@Louis_Tomlinson) November 21, 2022
Let’s go @England! 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿⚽️ #ItsComingHome pic.twitter.com/kSV643dwkF
— george E Z R A (@george_ezra) November 21, 2022
While many celebrated England’s victory, others called for a boycott of the World Cup.
Sleaford Mods took to Twitter ahead of the game to share their thoughts. They wrote: “England versus Iran. It’s not right is it. Countries killing its women for not towing some medieval line. Houses round near my mums, draped in St George flags. One blokes got a flag half the size of his fuckin house. He’s got an head like a nodding fuckin dog stuck to his dash.”
Daniel Avery also expressed his anger, writing: “Boycott the fucking thing. There will be more football. This is human life we’re talking about.”
England versus Iran. It’s not right is it. Countries killing its women for not towing some medieval line. Houses round near my mums, draped in St George flags. One blokes got a flag half the size of his fuckin house. He’s got an head like a nodding fuckin dog stuck to his dash
— Sleaford Mods (@sleafordmods) November 21, 2022
Boycott the fucking thing. There will be more football. This is human life we’re talking about.
— Daniel Avery (@danielmarkavery) November 21, 2022
The 2022 World Cup is being hosted in and around the Qatari capital city of Doha, and is being held amid ongoing criticism regarding the death of migrant workers in the creation of stadiums and the country’s views on homosexuality.
Comedian Joe Lycett made headlines this week by appearing to throw £10,000 into a tree shredder, in protest of David Beckham’s involvement in the World Cup. Last week, Lycett criticised Beckham’s role as a tournament ambassador, which has reportedly netted him £10million.
In a video message, the comedian offered to donate £10,000 of his own money to queer charities if Beckham ended the sponsorship before the tournament started. If not, he promised he would shred the cash on the opening day of the tournament and, although it looked like he did at first, he later confirmed that all the cash had actually been donated to charity.
Many other artists have spoken about the tournament in the run-up, with Rod Stewart saying he turned down almost £1million to perform at the World Cup, saying “it’s not right”, while Robbie Williams responded to criticism for being booked to perform at the Qatar World Cup.
Dua Lipa also recently denied rumours that she was to be involved, calling on Qatar to fulfil the human rights pledges it made when it won the right to host the tournament, while Maluma, the singer of the 2022 Qatar World Cup anthem, stormed out of an interview after being accused of “whitewashing” regarding the host country’s human rights record.