World Cup group stage reaches crunch point.
Gareth Southgate’s men need to avoid a heavy defeat to progress, while victory might even be enough for Wales to extend their stay in Qatar. Brazil and Portugal did just that on Monday during an eventful day at the finals which saw Bruno Fernandes score twice and Son Heung-min left in tears.
Lay off Foden
England boss Gareth Southgate pleaded with England fans not to set up Phil Foden to fail on the eve of the Battle of Britain clash with Wales.
Speaking after days of speculation over the 22-year-old Manchester City star’s lack of action to date in Qatar, Southgate said: “We need to make sure we are not building Phil into a situation where actually if he steps on the pitch this is becoming really difficult for him because the level of expectation is beyond a young guy who is still establishing himself internationally, in a different environment from his club where you’re comfortable with all the players you play with, it’s really distinctive, you’re going home every night, you’re calm with everything else.
“This is still a unique environment. He is still a really young player and he’s doing brilliantly well and we love him to bits. We also have got to look after him a bit as well.”
Bale targets shock
Gareth Bale has insisted there is no reason Wales cannot pull off a shock and beat England in their final Group B fixture. Having seen Japan, Saudi Arabia and Morocco already stun Germany, Argentina and Belgium, the Welsh talisman is targeting another surprise on Tuesday.
He said: “We know how difficult it will be. England are a very good team, They’re one of the favourites to win the tournament.
"We are under no illusions it will be hard, we’re going to give everything like we always do.”
Casemiro to the rescue
Casemiro came to Brazil’s rescue as they left it late to secure their passage to the World Cup knockout stage with a 1-0 Group G victory over Switzerland. The Swiss, who held the Brazilians to a 1-1 draw in Russia four years ago, looked set to repeat the feat until the Manchester United midfielder struck seven minutes from time to claim the points.
Bruno at the double
Bruno Fernandes scored both goals as Portugal booked their place in the World Cup knockout phase with a 2-0 Group H victory over Uruguay at Lusail Stadium. It initially looked as though Cristiano Ronaldo had drawn level with Portugal’s record World Cup goalscorer Eusebio when he rose to try and head in Fernandes’ 54th-minute cross.
But replays showed that the Portugal captain, who has scored eight World Cup goals, did not get a touch on it and the goal was given to Fernandes, who added a late penalty.
Hard luck, Son
Ghana breathed fresh life into their World Cup campaign with a thrilling 3-2 Group H win against South Korea. Mohammed Salisu and Mohammed Kudus gave Ghana a 2-0 lead, but Cho Gue-sung scored twice in three second-half minutes to haul South Korea level before Kudus fired the Africans to a first victory which left Korea’s Son Heung-min in tears on the final whistle.
Cameroon comeback
Cameroon fought back from two goals down to force a thrilling 3-3 draw with Group G rivals Serbia at the Al Janoub Stadium.
Serbia struck twice in added time before the interval through Strahinja Pavlovic and Sergej Milinkovic-Savic to turn the game on its head after Jean-Charles Castelletto had given Cameroon the lead. The Serbs went 3-1 up through Aleksandar Mitrovic, but substitute Vincent Aboubakar and Eric-Maxim Choupo-Moting ensured it finished all square.
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