England 3-0 Wales: Wales Sent Crashing Out By Clinical England
Poor old Gareth Bale was subbed off at halftime as his Wales side were sent crashing out of the World Cup in a 3-0 defeat by a clinical England.
In what will likely be his last game at a major tournament for his country the talismanic winger was subbed off by manager Rob Page for Brennan Johnson in a tactical move that clearly did not work.
Goals from Marcus Rashford and Phil Foden secured the Three Lions’ place in the round of 16 as they play Senegal on Sunday.
England dominated the first half despite their inability to score.
Rashford forced an outstanding save from goalkeeper Danny Ward after the forward failed to convert a one-on-one chance after Ward came off his line quickly 9 minutes in.
Other than that, both sides struggled to create clear-cut chances for the majority of the first half.
England dominated the ball with 72% possession, but Wales were so compact that the Three Lions struggled to break them down.
The only other notable shot of the first half fell to Foden who blazed a shot over the bar when trying to bend it into the top left corner 37 minutes in.
Rashford broke the deadlock with a dazzling free kick from 25 yards out 49 minutes into the game. The Manchester United forward must have seen Ward move early, smashing the ball into the top right corner.
The second came a minute later through Foden as he rolled the ball in at the end of a Harry Kane cross.
The two goals killed the game off as Gareth Southgate took off Kane, Declan Rice and Kyle Walker for Callum Wilson, Kalvin Phillips, and Trent Alexander-Arnold to rotate the squad in preparation for the knockout stages.
Rashford then struck again cutting in off the right wing and firing a left-footed shot through the legs of Ward in the 68th minute.
That goal left the 25-year-old as joint top scorer at Qatar 2022 which could mean he is in contention to start on Sunday.
The winger could have had only the fourth England hattrick at a world cup as Wilson played him into the box, only to be denied by Ward with a sprawling save, and his eventual substitution in the 75th minute.
The Welsh looked all at sea throughout the second half and the score line could have been much worse if it weren’t for some great goalkeeping from Ward.
