England put the fire out of the Welsh Dragon as they humbled the Gareth Bale-led side 3-0 to secure their qualification in the Round of 16 of the FIFA World Cup 2022.
England dominated the proceedings from the get-go, constantly wreaking havoc in the Welsh half. In the 9th minute, Rice won the ball in midfield and passed it to Kane, who on a half turn, slid in a perfectly weighted through ball for Rashford. However, his attempt to place the ball in the bottom corner was expertly thwarted by Ward, who came quickly off his lines to clear the danger.
In the 14th minute, Shaw’s freekick from the left was cleared by the Wales backline only to find Foden outside the area, who took a shot from distance without causing any trouble to Ward. In the 37th minute, England displayed some Champagne football when Bellingham received the ball from Henderson and flicked it with a 360-degree turn to Walker, who backheeled it back to Bellingham, who continued his run into the box. Bellingham then got past a couple of Welsh defenders before cutting the ball back to Foden, who attempted a curling effort on the half-turn well over the bar.
In the 43rd minute, Foden’s corner managed to find Stones in the far corner, whose header was once again over the bar.
England Turn It on In The Second Half
In the 49th minute, Marcus Rashford gave England the lead magnificently as he thundered in a freekick from 25 yards right in the top corner past a flying Ward. No keeper in the world was saving that.
Wales had not even settled in after conceding the banger from Rashford that Davies got pickpocketed by the Manchester United front-man on the right. The ball ended up on the feet of Harry Kane and the skipper crossed the ball from near the byline for Foden to score his marquee world cup goal.
In the 55th minute, Davies won the ball from Rashford and gave it to Ampadu, who pushed it ahead for Moore. Moore took a touch before unleashing a 35-yard shot toward goal, which got dangerously deflected by Harry Maguire but didn’t cause much trouble to Pickford.
Rashford got his second of the night when in the 67th minute Kevin Phillips released him on the right with an inch-perfect long ball. The English forward cut inside and danced past Roberts to shift the ball on his left and power it through the legs of Ward in the back of the net.
Rashford had a chance to complete his hat-trick in the 71st minute when a botched clearance of Bellingham’s ball landed it in the path of Willson who ran at the Welsh defense before slipping in a ball for Rashford, whose near-post attempt was saved by the outstretched boot of Ward.
Wales were again careless in possession as Ramsey’s lame touch allowed Wilson to again have a go at the Welsh defense, this time before slipping in Bellingham on the left whose low shot was parried away by Ward. The rebound fell to Foden but Rodon was just in time to stick his toe in, not allowing Foden to have a clean connect.
In the 90th minute, Foden’s corner from the right was met by Maguire on the far post, who headed it down for Stones to strike but the City defender fired it too high.
England Await Senegal Test
The win ensured the Three Lions finished top of their group and qualify for the Round Of 16 along with France, Portugal, and Brazil where they will face Senegal. For Wales, it was a disappointing end to their World Cup 2022 journey.
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