Five Things We Learned As England Defeat Senegal To Reach The World Cup Quarter-Finals

England cruised to a 3-0 win over Senegal on Sunday night thanks to goals from Jordan Henderson, Harry Kane and Bukayo Saka.

This is the first time ever the Three Lions have won a knockout match at three consecutive major tournaments, and sets up a mouth-watering quarter-final with France on Saturday. 

The first half-an-hour had a chance or two for Senegal with England struggling to pick out their attacking players between the lines.

Harry Maguire and John Stones spent a lot of time knocking the ball to one another. A slick move down the left brought the first goal out of the blue, however, which was soon followed by a clinical strike from Harry Kane to effectively wrap up the victory before the interval. 

Phil Foden created the third for Saka, who lifted the ball past Edouard Mendy from close range, and England barely had to break sweat in the final 33 minutes of normal time to guarantee they would return to Al Bayt Stadium in six days’ time. 

Gareth Southgate’s England continue to make history – here are five things we learned from their comprehensive win over the Lions of Teranga. 

Jude Bellingham is Already Elite

Jude Bellingham has starred for Borussia Dortmund, delivering match-defining performances in the Champions League and impressing in the Bundesliga.

The platform of a World Cup, starting in the engine room at 19 years old, is a different tier altogether. 

Against Senegal, Bellingham was a non-factor early on, but that changed emphatically with his driving run for the first goal and pinpoint pass to put it on a plate for Jordan Henderson.

The second was all Bellingham as he won the ball on the edge of the England box, powered up the middle of the pitch, retaining possession and sliding the ball to Phil Foden, who played in Harry Kane. 

Few players perform like this at a World Cup before their 20th birthday. Even fewer do so playing in central midfield.

Bellingham doesn’t just do a bit of everything, he does it all at an incredibly high level, combining a complete set of physical attributes with technical brilliance and a calmness with and without possession. 

The one assist, three dribbles and four tackles do not tell the story of Bellingham’s performance on Sunday. Teenage prodigies have been overhyped in England in the past, but Bellingham is a different case.

He isn’t good for a teenager – he is already among the best in the world at his position, and could be the best midfielder on the planet within a couple of years. 

England’s Squad Depth is Exceptional

Much is made of squad depth when discussing World Cup betting prior to a tournament. The impact of players outside the top 15 or so has generally been limited for the top teams. 

Different options in attack has always been beneficial (providing they are all of around the same quality), however, and the extra substitutes allowed in Qatar make a deep bench more valuable. 

It is easy to look on with envy at the France or Brazil squads. England, though, have a squad as good as any in this winter’s World Cup, and they have reaped the rewards with Gareth Southgate tweaking his XI since the 6-2 hammering of Iran. 

Even with Raheem Sterling travelling back to England, Southgate is blessed with a raft of attacking talents to slot alongside Harry Kane.

Marcus Rashford, Bukayo Saka, Mason Mount, Phil Foden and Sterling have now all started. Jack Grealish and Callum Wilson are great players to be able to call upon off the bench. 

In midfield, Southgate has been able to call upon the experience of Jordan Henderson alongside Declan Rice and Jude Bellingham.

Trent Alexander-Arnold is out of favour and Reece James wasn’t fit enough to make the squad, but Southgate still had Kieran Trippier to deputise while Kyle Walker returned to fitness. 

No Need to Worry About Harry Kane

Despite failing to score in the group stage, Harry Kane was always a good option to find the net in live betting on Sunday. 

Kane’s playmaking has been more valuable to England than his goal scoring, evidenced by his two assists and no shots against Iran.

The Tottenham striker had four shots over the final two group matches, though, and fired off three in the win over Senegal.

Only Leroy Sane and Antoine Griezmann have more expected goals assisted at this World Cup than Kane.

After his Golden Boot-winning haul in Russia, failing to score in three matches saw some questions asked of Kane, but his performances were great even before he fired past Edouard Mendy at about 7:47 on Sunday evening.

Southgate Knows What He’s Doing

This has been evident for a long time, but that hasn’t stopped the doubters resurfacing every time England have a moderately underwhelming result or performance.

Southgate has won six knockout matches at major tournaments, which is the same total achieved from 1968 to 2016.

Prior to the Southgate era, England lost to Iceland at the Euros and failed to make it out of a weak group at the 2014 World Cup. In the last two World Cups, England have scored as many goals as they did in the previous five combined. 

Southgate has reduced the weight of the England shirt, which was a burden for so many for so long. He has backed his players on and off the field, and can even explain why there’s a rivalry between England and Wales. 

There will always be loud critics of Southgate. It is the nature of managing a sports team, and particularly so when trying to guide a national team through the perils of tournament football.

Whatever his nonbelievers may spout, Southgate is England’s greatest manager since Alf Ramsey. He is yet to lose a knockout match in 90 minutes, and has absolutely nothing to prove regardless of what happens against France.

France Match is Winnable

France are the reigning world champions and are led by the consensus best player in the world in Kylian Mbappe.

Les Bleus have also not kept a clean sheet in their last five matches, and are without Karim Benzema, Christopher Nkunku, N’Golo Kante, Paul Pogba and Lucas Hernandez.

This is the most difficult knockout match of Southgate’s England tenure, but it is also distinctly winnable. It is an even contest on talent alone.

England come into this match unbeaten in the tournament, and on a run of three straight clean sheets. France fell to Switzerland in last summer’s Euros, plus have lost four and drawn two of their last 10 in all competitions. 

England are narrow underdogs, as their 11/10 odds to qualify indicate, but this is about as even as a knockout tie can be.

 

December 5, 2022
World Cup 2026
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Sam is a sports tipster, specialising in the Premier League and Champions League.

He covers most sports, including cricket and Formula One. Sam particularly enjoys those on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean – notably MLB and NBA.

Watching, writing and talking about sports betting takes up most of his time, whether that is for a day out at T20 Finals Day or a long night of basketball.

Having been writing for several years, Sam has been working with 888Sport since 2016, contributing multiple articles per week to the blog.

Sam Cox
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888sport's 2022 World Cup Team Of The Group Stages

The group stage of the 2022 World Cup has been wrapped up, so it’s a good time to acknowledge the players who really impressed in the first round of this controversial tournament. 

Big teams fell and some nations made history. Many are hoping this is the start of a glorious few weeks in Qatar. For others, simply winning a match or reaching the round of 16 is a success. 

Which players made the difference for their country? Here’s our XI of the World Cup group stage.

Goalkeeper: Wojciech Szczęsny

Poland had been saved by Wojciech Szczęsny a few times even before he denied Lionel Messi from the spot on Wednesday. As it turned out, conceding a third against Argentina would have sent Poland home.

Szczęsny finished the group stage with a post-shot expected goals minus goals allowed figure of +3.6, which is double that of second place. The former Arsenal goalkeeper hasn’t even matched that number in a full season since his +4.1 in 2019-20. 

Right-back: Josip Juranovic

Part of a Croatia defence which kept two clean sheets in a challenging group, Josip Juranovic has earned 19 of his 24 caps for the Vatreni since the start of last year.

The runners-up in Russia were not box office from a live betting perspective, but they got the job done and have a favourable tie in the round of 16.

Credited with an assist in the 4-1 drubbing of Canada, Juranovic was a solid performer throughout the first phase of the competition. He averaged two tackles and interceptions per match, plus 1.7 clearances and a block. 

Centre-back: Harry Souttar

With 6.7 clearances, 1.3 blocks and 3.7 aerial duels won per match, Harry Souttar’s statistical case matches the eye test.

Souttar entered this tournament with just 90 minutes of football under his belt since injuring his ACL in 2021, but showed no signs of rust as the leader of Australia’s back line. 

Souttar exhibited his passing range when given the opportunity, too. Able to start attacks and willing to put his body on the line, it is no surprise Souttar has already been linked with a move to the Premier League. 

Centre-back: Harry Maguire

Out of form and favour at Manchester United, Harry Maguire’s position in the England XI was a subject of debate in the lead up to this tournament.

Gareth Southgate, though, has been unwavering in his support of Maguire, and that faith has been repaid.

Maguire has been a consistent and often vital performer for England under Southgate’s stewardship. He appears to have again hit his best form at the right time, with a particularly impressive showing in the tactical battle against the USA. 

Left-back: Jordi Alba

Spain’s World Cup betting results faded through the group stage, ending with a defeat to Japan.

Their four points from two matches were partly down to the play of veteran left-back Jordi Alba – the 33-year-old had assists in the win over Costa Rica and draw with Germany. 

Alba is not quite as rapid as he was in his pomp. The pace is still great, though, and he was active out of possession with 2.7 tackles and interceptions accompanying his 1.3 key passes per match. 

Central Midfielder: Tyler Adams

Operating at the base of the United States midfield, Tyler Adams is the heartbeat of Gregg Berhalter’s side.

He registered 13 tackles and interceptions in three matches, along with five clearances, while averaging 61.3 passes on just under 90% pass completion. 

The Stars and Stripes conceded just one goal in three matches. Adams’ presence in midfield was a huge part of their defensive effort – they probably don’t reach the round of 16 without him.

Central Midfielder: Jude Bellingham

Starting off with the first goal in England’s 6-2 win over Iran, Jude Bellingham followed up his guided header with a complete midfield performance.

Doing a bit of everything at a high level in the opening match, Bellingham proved why he is arguably the most sought after player in world football.

The USA did well to nullify the former Birmingham midfielder, but he was again influential in a more advanced position in England’s 3-0 win against Wales and will have a huge role to play if the Three Lions are to match or better their semi-final showing in Russia. 

Attacking Midfielder: Mohammed Kudus

Mohammed Kudus fired off eight shots in three group stage starts, scoring twice in Ghana’s win over South Korea. Only Jamal Musiala and Alphonso Davies averaged more dribbles per match than Kudus (3.3).

Utilised in different roles throughout the group stage, and popping up all over the pitch, Kudus was Ghana’s biggest threat throughout the tournament.

It wasn’t to be for the Black Stars in an ultra-dramatic Group H, but Kudus’ stock continues to rise. 

Forward: Cody Gakpo

Cody Gakpo entered the World Cup under considerable pressure after persistent links with a big-money move to Manchester United. He lived up to his ascending reputation, scoring three of the Netherlands’ five goals in Group A. 

After a double-double in the Eredivisie last season, Gakpo has continued that scorching form for PSV Eindhoven, scoring nine and assisting 12 before the season was halted for the World Cup.

Louis van Gaal will hope the 23-year-old can keep performing at this level deep into the competition. 

Forward: Ritsu Dōan

It takes something special for a player with just one start to make the Team of the Group Stage.

Ritsu Dōan, though, was a difference maker for Japan as the Samurai Blue remarkably topped their group ahead of Spain and Germany. 

Dōan scored the first goal for Japan in their wins over La Roja and Die Mannschaft, completely transforming their’s attack on both occasions. Few players can rival Dōan’s impact on the group stage, even if he clocked just 131 minutes. 

Forward: Kylian Mbappe

Scorer of three goals in the first two matches, Kylian Mbappe was at his scintillating best, and will be featuring in the nightmares of Danish and Australian defenders for months to come. 

France are missing several key players, but they have a significant chance at defending their crown as long as Mbappe is fit. He has been the best player in Qatar through the first phase of the tournament.

 

December 3, 2022
World Cup 2026
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Sam is a sports tipster, specialising in the Premier League and Champions League.

He covers most sports, including cricket and Formula One. Sam particularly enjoys those on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean – notably MLB and NBA.

Watching, writing and talking about sports betting takes up most of his time, whether that is for a day out at T20 Finals Day or a long night of basketball.

Having been writing for several years, Sam has been working with 888Sport since 2016, contributing multiple articles per week to the blog.

Sam Cox
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