England 3-0 Senegal – World Cup 2022: Three Lions cruise into quarter-finals

A drink. A flippin’ dink. England slipped into the World Cup quarter-finals yesterday, and the sheer audacity of Bukayo Saka’s third goal momentarily banished fears that this team would be overwhelmed by France and Kylian Mbappe on Saturday.

That will be a gigantic test, make no mistake. France might well be the best team here, certainly the best in the European contingent. However, this was a statement result for England against the African champions, bettering France’s result earlier in the day against an ordinary Polish team.

England had a difficult first half to lead 2-0 and then calmed their nerves by adding a third after 56 minutes. Coming through Bukayo Saka, whom Southgate had preferred to last week’s hero Marcus Rashford, was another victory for the manager over his critics. Unsurprisingly, the team news brought the usual outpouring of virulence over their picks, despite the fact that Saka, Harry Kane and Phil Foden would have been a very popular forward trio before the tournament began.

And they delivered for Southgate, as did Jude Bellingham, with another terrific performance in the heart of midfield. Bellingham made one and was involved in another, Kane scored his first goal here and overtook Gary Lineker as England’s top scorer at the tournament, while Saka notched his third in Qatar to level with Rashford in the Golden Boot quest. , Foden became the first England player to get two assists in a World Cup knockout match since David Beckham against Denmark in 2002.

It was his cross through the legs of Kalidou Koulibaly that set up the third for England played by Kane. Saka saw Edouard Mendy enter the Senegal goal and simply passed the ball over his body. Intelligent, clinical, it was a goal that summed up England after some initial scares. And while France have had three goalscorers going into the quarter-finals, England can boast eight. They might be a bit worried about us too, you know?

The thousand-yard stares on the painted faces of the Senegalese fans told their own story. Harry Kane, with the last shot of the first part, had put two. However, it could have been 2-0 to Senegal before England came out of the lockdowns. How had they let this happen?

England are clinical. That is how. It’s another of the most impressive features of Gareth Southgate’s tenure. It’s better with a scorer like Kane, for sure. However, he has also built a team that takes advantage of his opportunities, which remains fresh in front of goal. Senegal did not. That’s why they were late. The loss of Sadio Mane was also huge, never forget that. If he had been playing, would England have held? Boulaye Dia is a good striker, but not at Mane’s level. And while Ismaila Sarr has plenty of fans in the Premier League, none have been willing to pay the money to get him out of Watford yet.

So England outplayed their opponents, who were also missing key midfield players. Not that it shows in the first 30 minutes. Senegal was the best team. They had the first chance of the game, after four minutes, and the best chances of the game on minutes 22 and 32. It could have been a catastrophic start for England. Instead England held on, held their ground and scored twice with brilliant counter-attacking plays, superbly taken by two of the team’s most experienced players, Jordan Henderson and Kane. Vice-captain and captain. That’s why Southgate sticks to the tried and tested. The clamor for the young player, the fit player, ignores the fact that tournament football is about building a winning team. And that needs old heads and cool heads, as well as the courage of youth.

So, in the 39th minute, it was Kane who was smart enough to see the perfect pass to Jude Bellingham that would expose Senegal’s back line and play. Bellingham advanced with the same confidence he displayed in the group stage opener with Iran, clipping a beautiful pass to the midfielder who arrived late into the Senegal penalty area.

It was a career Frank Lampard would have been proud of, and this is praise for Henderson, whose role for England has been rather more down-to-earth. In 73 appearances for England, he has only scored twice, most recently in a World Cup qualifier against Albania in 2021. Yet he took this as if nothing could be routine, as good as running over him. Edouard Mendy on the net. To be fair, Bellingham could hardly have made it any easier, his pass leaving him home plate, a fact Henderson seemed to acknowledge, pointing to his young teammate and gesturing to the crowd for recognition. Bellingham is England’s youngest World Cup goalscorer since 1966, Henderson the oldest World Cup goalscorer since Tom Finney. That’s a mix, that’s a team.

Just six minutes later, in first half stoppage time, England made the second. This time, Bellingham started the move, prowling again and finding Phil Foden, whose disinterested square pass left Kane one on one with Mendy. There was only one winner there, Kane pasting the Chelsea player for his first goal of the tournament. It was a long way back to Senegal from there.

However, how different it might have been if the African champions had finished like England. The game was only four minutes old when Dia passed and tackled John Stones and Harry Maguire knocked the ball off his toes. Dia moved back in front of Stones after 22 minutes, and found Sarr, who fired from close range: a good chance, wasted. Then a loose play from Bukayo Saka set Sarr up the left and he passed the ball through to Dia, who forced a terrific save from Jordan Picktord. strong hands. The Senegalese drummers carried on, even as the game faded, but drumming for Southgate and England will be easier after this. France looks as good as any opponent here, but any team that takes a chance always has a chance at a puncher.

Follow the Sportsmail live blog for the World Cup round of 16 clash between England and Senegal.