England go past Wales; Rashford Golden Boot contender
To win Group B and go to the round of 16, England overcame Wales 3-0 on Tuesday at the Ahmad bin Ali Stadium. Senegal, who finished second in Group A, will face England on Sunday. For top sports betting casinos make sure to check out CasinoDaddy!
After a scoreless first half, Gareth Southgate's team scored twice in two minutes, once from a brilliant free kick by Marcus Rashford and once from a ball from Harry Kane to Phil Foden. In the 68th minute of Wales' first World Cup debut in 64 years, Rashford added his second goal, and for the first time at a major event, Wales was eliminated in the group stage.
A change can be beneficial on occasion. After a lackluster performance against the United States, Southgate was expected to freshen up his England team. As a result, he made four changes, adding Rashford, Foden, Jordan Henderson, and Kyle Walker.
Wales set up with a low defensive block and little ambition, hoping to stay in the game for as long as possible during the subdued first 45 minutes, in which England was once again guilty of moving the ball too slowly. In the second half, England came out more determined, and Rashford was the catalyst, smashing a 50th-minute free-kick past Danny Ward, who will later regret making two small jumps to his right as the ball flew to his left. Make sure to check 18bet out.
With so much time left, Foden effectively ended Wales' chances, justifying the popular requests for his selection. Southgate was allowed to rest important players in preparation for Sunday's match against Senegal because of how much time had passed.
Furthermore, it should be remembered that Foden's goal was partially a result of Rashford and the Manchester City winger swapping flanks earlier in the play, as Southgate was criticized for his in-game management against Wales.
It will be difficult for Kane to defend the Golden Boot he earned in Russia four years ago, but England doesn't care right now. The consensus at the time was that England's chances of progressing depended heavily on Kane's precise finishing. However, given the abundance of attacking options on either side of him in 2022, this is not the case.
After providing two assists in England's opening victory over Iran, he again took the lead by collecting the ball from Rashford and delivering a perfectly placed cross to the far post for Foden to score. With a clever through ball to Rashford in the first 10 minutes of the game, Kane had the opportunity to contribute once more.
Since he developed a foot issue against Iran, Kane's fitness has been questioned, but the 29-year-old appeared sharper here and will benefit from the rest granted him. He was replaced by Callum Wilson after just 57 minutes.
Given his insatiable appetite for goals, it will irritate Kane that he has yet to score in Qatar, but his overall contribution has been crucial as he becomes the first England player since David Beckham in 2002 to assist on three goals.
If one of the finest players of the recent ten years retired in this manner, it would be regrettable. There was persistent talk that Gareth Bale's performance on Tuesday would be his final in a Wales uniform. Even though he has a contract with the MLS Cup champions through at least June 2023, it's not yet certain if he'll play in the final game of his career in February.
The 33-year-old, however, declared following Tuesday's defeat that he intends to continue representing Wales through Euro 2024. Perhaps the disappointment over his ineffectiveness at the World Cup will ignite a fire within him. In the first 45 minutes, he barely touched the ball seven times and only managed to complete one pass, indicating that he was out of gas.
Nevertheless, it came as a surprise when manager Rob Page took the winger off at halftime given his constant ability to strike gold. Rashford had put England in the lead after only five minutes, and Wales' race was over.
