England’s Domination in the Eighth Round

England reached the last eight of the 2022 World Cup without any problems. European Champions Vice-Champions beat Senegal 3-0 (1-0) in the round of 16. In the quarter-finals next Saturday, the task will probably be even more difficult: the opponent is France, who won the round of 16 3-1 against Poland.

England entered the game well, but did not earn any rankings for a long time. Senegal – without injured Bayern star Sadio Mane – felt the Three Lions were quite vulnerable after Ismaila Sarr’s big chance (22 minutes).

The Senegalese had a quarter-hour drive that failed to take advantage of a few good opportunities to take the lead. In the best case, England goalkeeper Jordan Pickford parried Boulaye Dia’s shot with one arm (31′).

England suddenly took the lead. John Henderson scores in the first notable attack blocking the Africans. Britain has now set the tone. And Harry Kane (41st), who missed a big chance at the beginning, made the situation 2-0 with a counter attack just before the timeout.

England remained effective in the second half. As Senegal’s defense lost momentum in the 57th minute, Bukayo Saka turned Phil Foden’s cross to make the score 3-0 – Saka’s third goal in the World Cup.

The boldly formulated dream of world title for Senegal is over. The last African team in the tournament was Morocco, which played their round of 16 against Spain on Tuesday.

England breathed a sigh of relief. Harry Kane seems to have regained his marksmanship. After 56 years, the dream of the first major title lives on; especially thanks to the powerful midfielder Jude Bellingham, who was instrumental in the first two goals.