England overcame a shaky start to defeat Senegal 3-0 and advance to the quarterfinals of the 2022 World Cup at the Al Bayt Stadium, thesportsbay.com reports.
The Lions of Teranga gave Gareth Southgate’s team a couple of early concerns, but two quickfire goals from Jordan Henderson and Harry Kane against the run of play put them two goals up before the break.
It was far from a cakewalk for the 2018 semi-finalists, who were rewarded with a matchup against reigning champions France in the last eight. Bukayo Saka, who was the sole substitution from the victory over Wales, made it three for the Three Lions early in the second half to seal the outcome.
Meanwhile, with goals from Olivier Giroud and Kylian Mbappe, France defeated Poland 3-1 to go to the 2022 World Cup quarterfinals.
With his first goal, Giroud surpassed Thierry Henry to become France’s all-time leading scorer. The 36-year-old has benefited from Karim Benzema’s absence from the competition.
The Paris Saint-Germain attacker then increased France’s lead in the 74th minute before scoring again late on, giving Didier Deschamps’ team another outstanding performance.
Robert Lewandowski found the back of the net from the penalty spot in the final exchanges, but it only proved to be a consolation for Poland.
Southgate’s side now have five days to recuperate before locking horns with France in their last-16 battle, at the Al Bayt Stadium next Saturday.
