England advanced on Sunday night to the last eight at the World Cup following a clinical destruction of Senegal.
Jordan Henderson and Harry Kane scored in the final six minutes of the first-half to put Gareth Southgate’s side in control at the Al Bayt Stadium.
Jude Bellingham was instrumental in both goals. For the first, the 19-year-old surged down the left and cut back to Henderson who eased the ball into the net past the Senegal goalkeeper Edouard Mendy.
For the second, Bellingham led the counterattack from the edge of his penalty area, brushing past defenders before releasing Phil Foden who spotted Kane unmarked on the right.
The England skipper, who had not scored in the tournament, ended his barren spell with a thumping drive.
Reward
The lead was ample reward for England’s possession and patience against the African champions who squandered two good opportunities before England got their eye in.
Mid way through the first-half, Krépin Diatta intercepted a poor pass out of defence from Harry Maguire. His cross led to a scramble in the goalmouth but Ismaila Sarr blazed over Jordan Pickford's crossbar from six metres out.
And five mintues later, Boulaye Dia forced a good save from Pickford.
"We had our chances to score and we didn't take them," rued Senegal boss Aliou Cissé.
"We came up against a very good England team who were strong in their challenges and we were far from what we're capable of.
Effort
"We've worked for years to become Africa's top team and today we've been playing one of the Big Five in the Fifa world rankings. The difference is plain to see."
Cissé will ponder why his players failed to ruffle England's feathers at the start of the second-half.
He replaced Diatta, Iliman Ndiaye and Pathe Ciss with Pape Matar Sarr, Bamba Dieng and Pape Alassane Gueye but rather than succumbing to doubt, England pulled away with a fine goal 12 minutes after the pause.
Kane sent Foden off down the left wing and after hurdling an alleged tackle, the Manchester City striker slid the ball into the penalty area for Bukayo Saka to dink his finish impishly over Mendy.
Endgame
Everyone knew it was over. The teams and fans went through the motions for next half an hour.
"The performance was great," said Kane, who was deemed man-of-the match.
"We were clinical when we had to be. Three goals in a knockout game is something you can't take for granted. It was a really good evening for us."
Next Saturday night at the same stadium, England will take on France who swept past Poland 3-1 at the Al Thumama Stadium.
Olivier Giroud's opened the scoring on the stroke of half-time. It was a record 52nd goal for his country.
Kylian Mbappé, who set up Giroud, bagged a brace with spectacular strikes to somewhat steal his fellow frontman's glory.
"It's the biggest test we could face," said Southgate of the impending quarter-final.
"They're world champions and have an incredible depth of talent and outstanding individual players. They're very difficult to play against and score against so it will be a fantastic challenge."
