England cruised to a 3-0 win over Senegal on Sunday night thanks to goals from Jordan Henderson, Harry Kane and Bukayo Saka.
This is the first time ever the Three Lions have won a knockout match at three consecutive major tournaments, and sets up a mouth-watering quarter-final with France on Saturday.
The first half-an-hour had a chance or two for Senegal with England struggling to pick out their attacking players between the lines.
The last-16 stage is set and England face Senegal on Sunday night for a place in the quarter-finals.
— 888sport (@888sport) December 2, 2022
Here, @SteTudor123 discusses why Phil Foden is so important and why Gareth Southgate cannot afford to keep him on the bench.https://t.co/0RsGSJZec9
Harry Maguire and John Stones spent a lot of time knocking the ball to one another. A slick move down the left brought the first goal out of the blue, however, which was soon followed by a clinical strike from Harry Kane to effectively wrap up the victory before the interval.
Phil Foden created the third for Saka, who lifted the ball past Edouard Mendy from close range, and England barely had to break sweat in the final 33 minutes of normal time to guarantee they would return to Al Bayt Stadium in six days’ time.
Gareth Southgate’s England continue to make history – here are five things we learned from their comprehensive win over the Lions of Teranga.
Jude Bellingham is Already Elite
Jude Bellingham has starred for Borussia Dortmund, delivering match-defining performances in the Champions League and impressing in the Bundesliga.
The platform of a World Cup, starting in the engine room at 19 years old, is a different tier altogether.
Against Senegal, Bellingham was a non-factor early on, but that changed emphatically with his driving run for the first goal and pinpoint pass to put it on a plate for Jordan Henderson.
The second was all Bellingham as he won the ball on the edge of the England box, powered up the middle of the pitch, retaining possession and sliding the ball to Phil Foden, who played in Harry Kane.
Few players perform like this at a World Cup before their 20th birthday. Even fewer do so playing in central midfield.
Bellingham doesn’t just do a bit of everything, he does it all at an incredibly high level, combining a complete set of physical attributes with technical brilliance and a calmness with and without possession.
The one assist, three dribbles and four tackles do not tell the story of Bellingham’s performance on Sunday. Teenage prodigies have been overhyped in England in the past, but Bellingham is a different case.
He isn’t good for a teenager – he is already among the best in the world at his position, and could be the best midfielder on the planet within a couple of years.
England’s Squad Depth is Exceptional
Much is made of squad depth when discussing World Cup betting prior to a tournament. The impact of players outside the top 15 or so has generally been limited for the top teams.
Different options in attack has always been beneficial (providing they are all of around the same quality), however, and the extra substitutes allowed in Qatar make a deep bench more valuable.
It is easy to look on with envy at the France or Brazil squads. England, though, have a squad as good as any in this winter’s World Cup, and they have reaped the rewards with Gareth Southgate tweaking his XI since the 6-2 hammering of Iran.
Even with Raheem Sterling travelling back to England, Southgate is blessed with a raft of attacking talents to slot alongside Harry Kane.
Marcus Rashford, Bukayo Saka, Mason Mount, Phil Foden and Sterling have now all started. Jack Grealish and Callum Wilson are great players to be able to call upon off the bench.
In midfield, Southgate has been able to call upon the experience of Jordan Henderson alongside Declan Rice and Jude Bellingham.
Trent Alexander-Arnold is out of favour and Reece James wasn’t fit enough to make the squad, but Southgate still had Kieran Trippier to deputise while Kyle Walker returned to fitness.
Team news is in - can England finish the job and book a place in the last-16 against Senegal?
— 888sport (@888sport) November 29, 2022
Read up on England's biggest World Cup wins (including the 6-2 victory over Iran) ahead of #ENGWAL.https://t.co/FHNjupHiDz
No Need to Worry About Harry Kane
Despite failing to score in the group stage, Harry Kane was always a good option to find the net in live betting on Sunday.
Kane’s playmaking has been more valuable to England than his goal scoring, evidenced by his two assists and no shots against Iran.
The Tottenham striker had four shots over the final two group matches, though, and fired off three in the win over Senegal.
Only Leroy Sane and Antoine Griezmann have more expected goals assisted at this World Cup than Kane.
After his Golden Boot-winning haul in Russia, failing to score in three matches saw some questions asked of Kane, but his performances were great even before he fired past Edouard Mendy at about 7:47 on Sunday evening.
Southgate Knows What He’s Doing
This has been evident for a long time, but that hasn’t stopped the doubters resurfacing every time England have a moderately underwhelming result or performance.
Southgate has won six knockout matches at major tournaments, which is the same total achieved from 1968 to 2016.
Prior to the Southgate era, England lost to Iceland at the Euros and failed to make it out of a weak group at the 2014 World Cup. In the last two World Cups, England have scored as many goals as they did in the previous five combined.
Southgate has reduced the weight of the England shirt, which was a burden for so many for so long. He has backed his players on and off the field, and can even explain why there’s a rivalry between England and Wales.
There will always be loud critics of Southgate. It is the nature of managing a sports team, and particularly so when trying to guide a national team through the perils of tournament football.
Whatever his nonbelievers may spout, Southgate is England’s greatest manager since Alf Ramsey. He is yet to lose a knockout match in 90 minutes, and has absolutely nothing to prove regardless of what happens against France.
Gareth Southgate has come under scrutiny over the past six months but is he still the right man for the England job?
— 888sport (@888sport) December 4, 2022
A throwback to @SamRCox_'s article as we build up to #ENGSEN this evening.https://t.co/kxGi6YdWxF
France Match is Winnable
France are the reigning world champions and are led by the consensus best player in the world in Kylian Mbappe.
Les Bleus have also not kept a clean sheet in their last five matches, and are without Karim Benzema, Christopher Nkunku, N’Golo Kante, Paul Pogba and Lucas Hernandez.
This is the most difficult knockout match of Southgate’s England tenure, but it is also distinctly winnable. It is an even contest on talent alone.
England come into this match unbeaten in the tournament, and on a run of three straight clean sheets. France fell to Switzerland in last summer’s Euros, plus have lost four and drawn two of their last 10 in all competitions.
England are narrow underdogs, as their 11/10 odds to qualify indicate, but this is about as even as a knockout tie can be.
