Captain Harry Kane hailed the mentality of England after they swept aside Senegal with a 3-0 win in their World Cup last-16 clash.
Kane became England’s highest ever scorer at major tournaments after Jordan Henderson opened the scoring, with Bukayo Saka superbly wrapping up a comfortable victory in Sunday’s contest at Al Bayt Stadium.
The reward is a crunch quarter-final clash against holders France next Saturday.
We'll be back at Al Bayt Stadium to take on France in the last eight of the @FIFAWorldCup on Saturday! pic.twitter.com/BXwApJqjeh
— England (@England) December 4, 2022
Southgate’s side will need to take their performance up a level given some of the problems Africa Cup of Nations winners Senegal were able to cause in a first half that ended with a quickfire England double.
Kane told ITV: “It was really tough, knockout games are never easy.
“I think we’ve showed great maturity through the tournament, and 3-0 against a really good side, credit to the boys, the mentality was top from the beginning and we took our chances when they came.
“We feel good, we’ve got good runners, good players getting forward, and it’s solid at the back, three clean sheets in a row is really important. A really good day for us.”
Regarding his goal, which leaves him one behind Wayne Rooney’s all-time England scoring record, Kane said: “I had so much time, the ball just sat up nicely, the connection was perfect.
“I had a chance before that which I should have done better with, so it was nice to see that one go in. I’m a striker, so whenever I score I’m always happy.”
Phil Foden was full of praise for the influential Jude Bellingham, who played key roles in the first two goals for England.
Foden said: “I don’t want to big him up too much because he’s still young, but he’s one of the most gifted players I’ve ever seen.
“I don’t see a weakness in his game, I think he has everything, and I’m sure he is going to be the best midfielder in the world.”
