Knee to the ground for both teams
Gareth Southgate’s side thrashed Wales led by Marcus Rashford and will meet Senegal in the last 16 of the World Cup. Both teams knelt before the start of the match in protest at all the restrictions in Qatar.
England to face Senegal
England will meet Senegal in the last 16 of the World Cup in Qatar after securing top spot in Group B with a Marcus Rashford-led 3-0 win over a sluggish Wales side who exited the tournament through the back door on Tuesday.
Two goals in a minute
The Dragons needed to beat their opponents to have any chance of qualifying for the play-offs, but only looked to have a risky intention of doing so when they conceded the first two goals in the space of just over a minute.
Gloomy play from Wales
Robert Page’s side played the kind of dreary game that has characterised their second World Cup in their history, especially in the first 45 minutes, and were unable to trouble Gareth Southgate’s consistently dominant side, who were able to save their energy for the match against the African champions.
English domination
The first half clearly belonged to the continental runners-up, who made a few substitutions to secure first place without having to rely on any other result. England dominated from start to finish and Wales, in another game with Gareth Bale, who only played one half, ‘disappeared’, could barely get close to Jordan Pickford’s area, except for a high shot from Joe Allen in the final minutes.
Barely any chances
The rest, though not much either, was a product of the Three Lions’ greater intensity and drive, with their best chance coming early on through Marcus Rashford, one of the new additions to the eleven. The Manchester United striker received a great pass from Harry Kane, but Ward saved well from the one-on-one.
Harry Kane assists
From there, despite almost overwhelming dominance, England did not generate much more until half-time, although Phil Foden sent a shot over after a great team move and the lively and motivated Rashford missed his spot-kick.
No Bale in the second half
After the changing rooms, and knowing that the United States had beaten Iran, Wales were expected to be more ambitious in their pursuit of victory, but they returned to the pitch without Bale. And their hopes were dashed in just over a minute. Rashford’s direct free-kick was flicked on to perfection and then a mistake by Davies allowed Foden to tap home Kane’s fine cross.
Southgate booked players
The Welsh side were left with little choice but to stretch a little further and had their ‘best’ moments, with a sharp cross-shot from James and then a fine reflex save from Pickford to tip away a Moore shot that had been headed away by Maguire. Southgate, with the game already in hand, began to think about Senegal and withdrew Kane, Rice and Walker.
Wales leave without scoring a goal
Wales tried with the game already more open, but could not avoid saying goodbye to the World Cup without being able to score a goal in play. In the final stages, Rashford capped his great night with the 0-3, Stones could have scored the fourth and Ward prevented a bigger English goal with a couple of fine saves.
