England beats Senegal to set up a quarterfinal meeting with France

England comfortably dispatched African champions Senegal with a 3-0 scoreline in the round of the clash on Sunday. The three lions, who got seven points from a possible nine in the group stages with two victories and a draw, dominated the game for most of the parts, although they started pretty shaky.

Senegal finished second in group A behind the Netherlands after beating hosts Qatar 3-1 and a 1-1 draw with Ecuador.

Liverpool midfielder Jordan Henderson opened the scoring with 7 minutes to time while Tottenham striker Harry Kane scored his first goal at this edition of the World Cup in first-half stoppage time.

The win was completed by Arsenal player Bukayo Saka who scored three minutes before the hour mark. However, Jordan Henderson said the team is already looking out to the quarterfinal clash against defending champions France who had earlier defeated Poland 3-1 in the day to secure a quarterfinal stage spot.

“From our point of view, we know we are up against a world-class team with world-class players. It’s a huge, huge test; they’re the current champions. But I believe in the players and believe that if we perform to the level we are capable of, we can give them a really good go. Anything can happen, so we’ve got to believe and give everything we can in the next one.” Henderson said.

In France’s 3-1 win over Poland, AC Milan striker Olivier Giroud became France’s all-time goal scorer as his first-half strike put him one clear of Thierry Henry with 53 goals compared to the Arsenal legend’s 52.

Olivier Giroud had already leveled up with Thierry Henry’s goal record in France’s opening World Cup fixture against Australia with a brace in the 4-1 victory.

Kylian Mbappe also scored a brace on the night as France continued to look convincing in their charge to defend the title.

Daniel Ademiju Idowu