AL KHOR
\nEngland set up a titanic World Cup quarter-final against holders France as Jude Bellingham\u2019s masterclass insp\u00adired a 3-0 win against Senegal in the last 16 on Sunday. Gareth Southgate\u2019s side survived a nervous start at the Al Bayt Stadium before Jordan Henderson and Harry Kane put Senegal to the sword with a pair of clinical finishes before half-time.
\nBukayo Saka scored England\u2019s third, but it was Bellingham\u2019s prodigious work-rate and burgeoning quality in possession that allowed them to turn the tide. Bellingham set up Henderson\u2019s opener and the Borussia Dortmund midfielder was involved again when England captain Kane bagged his first goal in this World Cup.
\nKane has now netted 11 times at major tournaments, overtaking Gary Lineker as England\u2019s all-time top scorer in those competitions.
\nBut at the tender age of 19, it is Bellingham who has emerged as England\u2019s driving force. He is the first teenager to assist in a World Cup knockout stage game since 1966, having already announced his arrival on the global stage by netting his first England goal in the 6-2 rout of Iran in their group opener.
\nJust two years after he was playing in the English second tier with Birmingham, the precocious Bellingham was totally unfazed against Senegal in the biggest game of his life.
\nEngland will need another command performance from Bellingham if they are to extend their stay in Qatar beyond the last eight.
\nEyeing a third successive semi-final appearance at major tournaments, England will return to the Al Khor desert on Saturday to take on the red-hot Kylian Mbappe and company after France brushed aside Poland 3-1 on Sunday.
\nEuro 2020 runners-up England have won only one of their last eight meetings with France, who pose a significant threat to their hopes of winning a first major title for 56 years.
\nThe depth of attacking talent available to Southgate could be crucial and, defending his decision to drop Marcus Rashford for Saka despite the forward\u2019s double against Wales, he boasted \u201cwe have an embarrassment of riches in all areas of the pitch\u201d.
\nAfter a rocky opening when they passed too slowly and looked anxious, England hit their stride to show why Southgate has such confidence in them.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
AL KHOR England set up a titanic World Cup quarter-final against holders France as Jude Bellingham\u2019s masterclass insp\u00adired a 3-0 win against Senegal in the last 16 on Sunday. Gareth Southgate\u2019s side survived a nervous start at the Al Bayt Stadium before Jordan Henderson and Harry Kane put Senegal to the sword with a pair […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-299551","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-sports"},"yoast_head":"\n