23/04 - 20:00
23/04 - 20:00
A superb second half from England made it a comfortable evening for Gareth Southgate's side as they beat Wales 3-0 at the Ahmed bin Ali Stadium and booked their place in the 2022 World Cup round of 16.
Action: England's first half was similar to their previous game against USA. Gareth Southgate’s men have dominated the ball and used it well in the Welsh half, but despite the introduction of Phil Foden and Marcus Rashford into the starting XI, they lacked creativity in the last third and didn't create too many clear cut chances.
On the Welsh perspective, they kept England quiet for the majority of the first 45 minutes and it seemed that their game plan was being successful at that point.
The big chance of the first period came from Rashford, after Harry Kane put him through on goal, but Danny Ward was quick off his line to block his shot.
The Three Lions absolutely killed any Welsh hope in the first minutes of the second-half, with two quick-fire goals.
With just five minutes into the second period, Rashford with a magnificent free-kick from 25 yeards out into the far corner broke the deadlock and put England in front.
A few seconds later, Rashford won the ball from Ben Davies and quickly gave it to Kane, who put a delightful ball across the face of goal to the far post, where Foden was waiting for a simple tap-in.
England sealed the win 20 minutes from time, after Kalvin Phillips played a delightful ball over the top for Rashford and the Man Utd forward cut inside on the right-hand side and fired home an effort through Danny Ward's legs.
Big Picture: Disappointing night for Wales as they crash out of the tournament, while England finish top of the group with two wins and a draw and earn a place in the round of 16.
As winners of Group B, England will face the runners-up of Group A Senegal, who claimed that spot earlier on Tuesday following their 2-1 victory over Ecuador.
The game is set to be played on Sunday on Sunday December 4, kick off 7pm at theAl Bayt Stadium.
Man of the match: Marcus Rashford. A night to remember for the 25-year-old forward. Two cracking goals, but his performance overall was outstanding.
Moment of the match. Rashford's first goal. What a lovely free kick and the timing was perfect. Just killed any Welsh hope...
Reaction: Gareth Bale: "We would have pinched ourselves two years to be at a World Cup. We need to realise how far we’ve come; how proud we are to get here. We will walk out of that changing room with our heads held high. It just didn’t happen for us this tournament. We can never have any regrets."
xG: Wales (0.32) 0-3 (2.33) England
Stat of the day: Marcus Rashford is the first Manchester United player to score three goals at a major tournament for England since Bobby Charlton at the 1966 World Cup.
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0-3 | ||
Marcus Rashford 50' 68' Phil Foden 51' |
