England ease past Senegal to set up France showdown
England recovered following a poor start before cruising to a comfortable 3-0 victory over Senegal in their 2022 FIFA World Cup pre quarter-final match played at the Al Bayt Stadium in Doha, Qatar yesterday.
A goal each from Jordan Henderson, Harry Kane, and Bukayo Saka helped England set up a mouth-watering World Cup quarter-final clash with holders France.
England took a long time to impose itself on the African champion, a team it had never faced before and survived a couple of scares before two goals late in the first half changed the feel of the night.
The victory extended England’s all-time unbeaten run against African teams to 21 games, including eight in World Cups.
The absence of the suspended Idrissa Gueye and injured Cheikhou Kouyate left Senegal’s midfield too underpowered to pose problems for England. With Sadio Mane missing the tournament through injury, the Africans also lacked a cutting edge to trouble an England defence that kept a third successive World Cup clean sheet for the first time in 20 years.
For most of the first half, it was slow and static, and a series of misplaced passes gifted Senegal chances. The best of them fell to Boulaye Dia, and only the strong left arm of keeper Jordan Pickford prevented the Africans from taking the lead.
England finally injected some pace, breaking down the left through Phil Foden and Jude Bellingham, who crossed for late arriving in Henderson to stroke home the opener.
Kane had an almost identical chance minutes later, and though he side footed over, his goal drought at this tournament came to an end in emphatic style in first-half stoppage time.
Bellingham again surged from his own box and fed Foden, who rolled the ball into the path of the captain to smash in an unstoppable shot to become England’s eighth scorer in Qatar.
It was a lead that had looked unlikely, but England came out full of confidence after the break, and it no longer felt like a contest. Saka, recalled by coach Gareth Southgate in his only change from the win over Wales, cleverly lifted in the third after 58 minutes following a penetrating run and low cross by Foden. (C.D)