England cruised past Senegal 3-0 in their first World Cup qualifier, with a mouth-watering clash against holders France awaiting them in the last 16.
Two quick goals – the first from Jordan Henderson, the second from Harry Kane – put Gareth Southgate’s side in control at half-time after what had been a nervous start at Qatar’s Al Bayt Stadium.
Follow the live reaction to England’s stunning win
Africa Cup of Nations champions Senegal had chances to open the scoring and forced a fine save from goalkeeper Jordan Pickford before namesake Henderson scored in the 38th minute.
But the second half was much more comfortable for the Three Lions, with young Arsenal star Bukayo Saka netting his third goal of the tournament in the 57th minute to seal victory.
Kane’s goal in first-half added time means he has now scored 11 goals in major tournaments, seven at the World Cup and four at the Euros, overtaking Gary Lineker as England’s all-time top scorer at tournaments important
England face the toughest test they could ask for in the next round, after record goals from France strikers Olivier Giroud and Kylian Mbappe helped the 2018 winners beat Poland in Sunday’s previous game.
The young lions roar with an impressive victory
Playing their first knockout game on the world stage since the painful 2018 semi-final extra-time defeat to Croatia, Southgate’s men showed growing quality and maturity to progress.
But while it was Henderson and Kane who got the goals that helped England neutralize an impressive Senegalese start, it was youngsters Jude Bellingham and Phil Foden who shone more under the spotlight.
Image: Phil Foden was one of England’s star men Image: Jude Bellingham celebrates qualifying for the quarter-finals
The former, aged just 19, added to his growing reputation with a superb performance and provided the assist for fellow midfielder Henderson.
Bellingham also led a brilliant break for Kane’s fine goal, before Manchester City star Foden, 22, played the skipper to tap home.
And Saka, himself just 21, repaid the manager’s faith by slotting past Marcus Rashford, slotting the ball past Edouard Mendy to end the game.
England were in cruise control from that point, and Southgate made the changes as they secured progress to back-to-back World Cup quarter-finals, something the national team last achieved in 2002 and 2006.
Image: Bukayo Saka made the game safe with the third and final goal
Kane: We feel good about how we are playing
Spurs star Kane hailed a “very good day” for the Three Lions, telling ITV that his side had shown “great maturity”.
“It was really tough, playoff games are never easy,” he said.
“I think we showed a lot of maturity throughout the tournament, and 3-0 against a really good team, credit to the boys, the mentality was superior from the start, and we took our chances when they came.
“We feel good, we have good runners, good players going forward, and he is solid at the back, three goals in a row is very important. A very good day for us.”