World Cup Qatar 2022 football

 

World Cup: England to play France in mouthwatering quarter-final tie

Jude Bellingham, England midfielder, celebrates at the end of a World Cup round of 16 victory against Senegal in which he turned in an imperious performance defying his teenage years. Photograph: Anadolu Agency/Getty Images

England have a long history of disappointing their fans at major tournaments – losing to teams they should beat or managing to be less than the sum of their parts. But since Gareth Southgate took over as manager they have been oddly competent, reaching the semi-final of the last World Cup and the final of last year’s European Championships, where they were a penalty shootout away from victory. And that trend has continued in Qatar. On Sunday they faced Senegal, a team they might have struggled to beat under previous managers. But they took their chances ruthlessly and eased to a 3-0 victory. They’ll now face France in the quarter-final. The reigning champions played Poland in Sunday’s early game and survived a few early wobbles before completing a 3-1 victory. Two of their goals came from Kylian Mbappé, who already looks the player of the tournament. Both of his goals were stunning finishes, the work of a man who looked like he scored simply because he wanted to. France will be the slim favorites to advance to the semi-final when they play England on Saturday.