FIFA World Cup: England beat Senegal to book quarterfinal clash with France
Harry Kane scored his first goal at the World Cup finals. England defeated Senegal in a commanding fashion and advanced to the quarterfinals of the World Cup
Jordan Henderson was a surprise selection, but opened the scoring for the Three Lions.The Three Lions started the match sluggishly, and Senegal had two good opportunities in the early stages.
Watford's Ismaila Sarr fired the ball over the bar from close range before Jordan Pickford had a powerful shot blocked by Boulaye Dia.
But England took the lead with their first clear-cut chance. Jude Bellingham played free behind the Senegalese defence and laid the ball back to Jordan Henderson, who calmly slotted the ball past Chelsea's Edouard Mendy.
Just before the break, England took complete control of the round of 16 when Harry Kane doubled their lead with his first goal of the tournament.
Jude Bellingham charged forward with the ball and waited patiently before playing it to Phil Foden. The Man City star played the ball to Harry Kane, who fired it past Edouard Mendy and into the net.
With about half an hour to go, Gareth Southgate's side extended their lead.
Foden got through a foul well and played in Bukayo Saka, who slid the ball over Edouard Mendy and into the corner for England's third goal.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Phil Foden says Jude Bellingham will be "the best midfielder in the world." 👀 <a href="https://t.co/wh0NejUo5T">pic.twitter.com/wh0NejUo5T</a></p>— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) <a href="https://twitter.com/ESPNFC/status/1599525048221663232?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 4, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
England played the rest of the game without danger, and Southgate even gave some of his key players a rest in the closing stages.
With this win, England will face 2018 World Cup champions France in the competition's quarterfinals next Saturday.