England will launch their World Cup campaign today (November 21) as they take on Iran in their first match.

But before the match begins, players on the England team will be taking the knee after manager Gareth Southgate confirmed the news. 

Many of the players had previously regularly taken a knee in their Premier League matches but have since stopped taking place regularly. 

However, the team have shared that they plan to take a knee before every World Cup match in Qatar. 

Why are England players taking the knee at the World Cup in Qatar?

The footballers take the action as a sign that they are against racism in football and want to make the sport more inclusive. 

Southgate, previously discussed the choice to take the knee, saying: "We’ve discussed taking the knee and we feel we should."

Adding: "We feel this is the biggest and we think it’s a strong statement that will go around the world for young people, in particular, to see that inclusivity is very important."

What does taking a knee in football mean? 

Taking the knee before a match first began in 2020 and was in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter campaign after George Floyd was murdered by a police officer in May 2020. 

The action is to show that the footballers are against racism of any kind and want to help the sports progress into a more inclusive space.