90min

Twitter reacts as England ease into World Cup quarter-final

By Toby Cudworth

Jude Bellingham unlocked the door twice for England in the first half
Jude Bellingham unlocked the door twice for England in the first half / Markus Gilliar - GES Sportfoto/GettyImages
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England are through to the quarter-final of the World Cup after easing past Senegal 3-0 in the round of 16.

Goals from Jordan Henderson, Harry Kane and Bukayo Saka were enough to book the Three Lions a date with France, with victory in the end achieved with relative ease.

There were some eye-catching performances once more, with Gareth Southgate's side more than good enough to see off the challenge of the Lions of Teranga.

Here's how the game unfolded on the delight that is Twitter...

Cagey opening - England poor?

England began the game in pretty cagey fashion - a few shaky moments from Harry Maguire and John Stones, some poor passing out from the back and a couple of efforts on goal for Senegal.

It had a World Cup round of 16 tension in the air.

The Three Lions have set such high standard for themselves that when it doesn't come off, it's the end of the world for some when things are a little slow to get going. This was again the case on everybody's favourite social media platform, who were pretty quick to lambast the quality of England's performance early on.

(Just to be clear, it wasn't great and was a tad uninspiring - tournament footer though, right?)

Bellingham brilliance

With just over half an hour played, England were looking for a little bit of spark and inspiration to get them motoring. They hadn't been awful but they were certainly a long way short of what they're capable of.

Enter, Jude Bellingham.

The Borussia Dortmund teenager, one of the most in-demand players in world football, burst through the lines after some terrific forward play by Harry Kane. He sauntered into the box, squared the ball with a perfect weight of pass and Jordan Henderson slid England ahead.

Not content with setting up just one, Bellingham then cut Senegal's midfield to ribbons with a delicious piece of play. He eventually broke the lines to release Phil Foden, and he put the ball on a plate for Harry Kane to advance on goal and make it two.

The praise was high, as you'd expect...

Harry Kane quality

Bellingham may have been the player to unlock the Senegal door for England, but there was also an abundance of praise for Kane - who notched his 52nd goal for the Three Lions, leaving him just one behind Wayne Rooney.

His positioning was impeccable, and after collecting taking Foden's pass in his stride, he rifled the ball past Edouard Mendy with ease to double England's advantage.

Best striker in the world? Some seemed to think so...

Foden and Saka make it three

Senegal boss Aliou Cisse made a trio of changes at half-time, looking to bolster numbers in midfield and compete with an England side who had gone through the gears in the final 10 minutes of the half.

But any hopes the former Portsmouth midfielder had of seeing his side get back into the game were extinguished by another of England's two young guns - Foden and Bukayo Saka.

The former took the ball brilliantly in his stride after more good work from Kane, and his drop off the hip and shoulder opened up a crossing opportunity. The Manchester City man duly delivered the ball on a plate for Saka, who did the rest with a lovely clipped finish past Mendy.

The verdict? All hail Gareth Southgate

3-0, England through to the World Cup quarter-final and a date with France.

Eight knockout games played, eight undefeated in 90 minutes - not bad at all.

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