England advanced to the World Cup quarterfinals with a 3-0 victory over Senegal on Sunday night.
The Three Lions displayed some weaknesses in the first half, but they improved as Senegal struggled and, most importantly, found their scoring touch to set up a tantalising matchup with France in the last eight.
Senegal applied the pressure to a shaky England for the first 40 minutes, but they missed opportunities and paid the price toward the end of the half. The AFCON champions lost all of their momentum as a result, and Gareth Southgate’s team was able to successfully finish the match with ease.
In the first 20 minutes, both teams struggled to settle into a routine and gain control of the game due to a lack of quality and evidently high levels of tension. With a few crosses, England challenged Edouard Mendy, and Senegal appeared capable of overtaking the Three Lions when they were careless with the ball in their own penalty area.
Senegal had a wonderful opportunity to score after Harry Maguire mishandled a pass, but John Stones and Jordan Pickford both stopped the first attempt. For a brief moment, hearts were in mouths as VAR investigated a possible handball against the Manchester City player, but the investigation was quickly concluded.
A three-goal lead was too much for Senegal, whose three half-time substitutions had failed to shift momentum back into their favor. In the last 30 minutes, England professionally controlled the game by keeping a rigid formation, enhancing their passing, and rotating as necessary.
One of England’s more impressive aspects of their performance in the latter stages was their game management. Although they cannot afford to start against France the way they did against Senegal, their continual improvement is unquestionably another plus.
England player ratings (4-3-3)
GK: Jordan Pickford – 7/10
RB: Kyle Walker – 5/10
CB: John Stones – 5/10
CB: Harry Maguire – 5/10
LB: Luke Shaw – 6/10
CM: Jordan Henderson – 8/10
CM: Declan Rice – 6/10
CM: Jude Bellingham – 9/10
RW: Bukayo Saka – 6/10
ST: Harry Kane – 8/10
LW: Phil Foden – 7/10
Substitutes
Jack Grealish – 6/10
Marcus Rashford – 6/10
Mason Mount – 5/10
Eric Dier – 5/10
Manager
Gareth Southgate – 6/10
Senegal player ratings (4-2-3-1)
GK: Edouard Mendy – 4/10
RB: Youssouf Sabaly – 4/10
CB: Kalidou Koulibaly – 6/10
CB: Abdou Diallo – 4/10
LB: Ismail Jakobs – 3/10
DM: Pathe Ciss – 4/10
DM: Nampalys Mendy – 3/10
RW: Krepin Diatta – 6/10
AM: Iliman Ndiaye – 5/10
LW: Ismaila Sarr – 7/10
ST: Boulaye Dia – 6/10
Substitutes
Bamba Dieng – 5/10
Pape Gueye – 5/10
Pape Sarr – 6/10
Famara Diedhiou – 5/10
Manager
Aliou Cisse – 5/10
Player of the match: Jude Bellingham (England)
