England once again had the upper hand in the “Battle of Britain”. In a duel with their western neighbors, the “Three Lions” never ran the risk of giving up the round of 16 qualification. As a result, Gareth Southgate’s team will advance to the round of 16 as group winners. There the opponent on Sunday is called Senegal.
For the Welsh, however, the wait for a win against the big brother continues. They haven’t been able to beat England since 1984. For the “dragons” the World Cup is over with just one point and one goal scored.
Rashford outstanding, Bale disappointing
A draw would have been enough for the English to advance. After the disappointing 0-0 draw against the USA in the second group game, Southgate reacted and made four changes in the starting line-up. Among others, he relied on Marcus Rashford and Phil Foden, who had never started in Qatar before. He showed a golden touch.
Rashford was able to put himself in the limelight in the first half, but missed after 10 minutes alone in front of Danny Ward, who replaced Wayne Hennessey in goal, who was suspended. England then dominated the Welsh, who were once again disappointing in attack, but only counted after the break. But there were two goals to admire within 96 seconds:
- 50 minutes, 1-0: Rashford takes a free kick from around 20 meters from a slightly left position and hits the right corner, which is well worth seeing. Ward can no longer prevent the impact despite flying.
- 51 minutes, 2-0: Less than two minutes later, the ball is already wriggling in the net again. Foden slides in after a cross pass from Harry Kane. The goal was preceded by a loss of possession by Ben Davies. Rashford had wrested the ball from the defender.
Gareth Bale was no longer on the pitch at this point. The Welsh star was substituted at half-time. In qualifying, he almost single-handedly shot his team to the finals with 7 goals. At the World Cup itself, he scored from the spot in the game against the USA, but otherwise often remained inconspicuous.
The same cannot be said of Rashford. The Manchester United striker made it 3-0 in the 68th minute at the Ahmad Bin Ali Stadium. After a dribble, he caught Keeper Ward between the legs. Rashford is already at 3 goals. He also scored when he came on as a substitute against Iran.
Here’s how to proceed
While Wales have to return home, the tournament for England continues on Sunday. At 8:00 p.m., the 2018 semi-finalists meet Senegal in the round of 16. The West Africans qualified for the knockout stages of a World Cup for the second time in their history thanks to a 2-1 win in a direct duel against Ecuador.