England ready for 'fantastic challenge' of facing France in World Cup quarter-finals

Three Lions booked their place in the last eight with a 3-0 win over Senegal on Sunday night

England's Bukayo Saka scores the third goal in the 3-0 World Cup Round of 16 win against Senegal at Al Bayt Stadium in Al Khor, Qatar. on December 4, 2022. PA

Bukayo Saka scores England's third goal. Getty

England's Bukayo Saka celebrates scoring the third goal. PA

England's Harry Kane scores the second goal. PA

Harry Kane scores England's second goal. Getty

England's Harry Kane scores the second. AFP

Harry Kane of England celebrates after scoring the second goal. Getty

England's Jordan Henderson celebrates scoring the opening goal with Jude Bellingham, Harry Kane and Bukayo Saka. PA

England's Jordan Henderson, left, scores their first goal. PA

Jordan Henderson of England celebrates with teammate Jude Bellingham after scoring the opener. EPA

England's Jude Bellingham celebrates Jordan Henderson's opening goal. PA

England's Jordan Henderson celebrates scoring their first goal with Jude Bellingham. AFP

Jordan Henderson of England scores the first goal. Getty

England goalkeeper Jordan Pickford saves from Senegal's Boulaye Dia. PA

Senegal's Kalidou Koulibaly battles with England's Jude Bellingham. AFP

Ismaila Sarr of Senegal shoots past Jordan Pickford of England. Getty

Ismaila Sarr of Senegal shoots just over the bar as Jordan Pickford of England dives. Getty

England's Phil Foden breaks with Senegal's Youssouf Sabaly in pursuit. AFP

England's Jude Bellingham is challenged by Senegal's Youssouf Sabaly. PA

Kyle Walker of England jumps for the ball with Boulaye Dia of Senegal. Getty

England's goalkeeper Jordan Pickford makes a save. AP

Referee Ivan Arcides Barton Cisneros changes the ball after it went flat. PA

Senegal fans at Al Bayt Stadium. AP

England's Phil Foden evades being tackled by Senegal's Youssouf Sabaly. PA

Harry Kane of England after being caught by Kalidou Koulibaly. Getty

England's Jack Grealish and Senegal's Bamba Dieng battle. AP

England's Harry Kane. Reuters

England's Jude Bellingham shakes hands with manager Gareth Southgate after being substituted. Reuters

Senegal's Famara Diedhiou in action with England's Kyle Walker. Reuters

England captain Harry Kane said his team are ready for a "tough evening" when they face France in the 2022 World Cup quarter-finals on Saturday.

England booked their place in the last eight in Qatar with a 3-0 win over Senegal on Sunday night, overcoming a nervous start before goals from Jordan Henderson, Kane, and Bukayo Saka led to a comfortable victory.

Next up for Gareth Southgate's side is a showdown with a France side looking to become the first team to win successive World Cups since Brazil in 1958 and 1962.

"Saturday will be a really tough evening," said Kane, whose goal against Senegal was his first of the tournament and moved him within one of Wayne Rooney's England record of 53. "France are a great team.

"They are the reigning champions. If you want to win the World Cup you have to play the best sides in the world and France are definitely one of them."

Southgate agreed with his captain and believes England will face the "biggest test" of their title credentials.

Les Bleus may have been depleted by injuries before and during the tournament - with Ballon d'Or winner Karim Benzema and midfielders Paul Pogba and N'Golo Kante among the notable absentees - but in Kylian Mbappe, they possess one of the most dangerous forwards in world football.

Paris Saint-Germain striker Mbappe took his tally to five goals and two assists from four games on Sunday with a brace in the 3-1 win over Poland on Sunday.

"It is the biggest test we could face. They are world champions, with an incredible depth of talent and outstanding players. They are very hard to play against and score goals against," Southgate said.

England v Senegal player ratings

ENGLAND RATINGS: Jordan Pickford 8 - Got his hand to a Dia shot on 31 minutes. Stood firm in first half. Started kicking the ball long after England went ahead. Extremely vocal throughout, he’ll know that France will be a sterner test in the quarter-finals. Getty

Kyle Walker 7 - Lucky not to be booked for a foul on Sarr after 36. The whole defence was pressured by Senegal, but it all changed after the opening goal. AFP

Harry Maguire 7 - Played a 12th-minute ball which led to an attack but, with limited options in front, distribution was poor from the back. Another clean sheet alongside his friend Stones. AFP

John Stones 7 - Surprised in the 22nd minute, then gave the ball away on 26 as the game slowed to a snail’s pace. AFP

Luke Shaw 8 - Read a Koulibaly pass well to intercept and start a 42nd-minute attack. AP

Declan Rice 7 - Didn’t show for passes enough early on, but drove forward after 44 with the goal rejuvenating England. Better performance than against the USA. Getty

Jude Bellingham 9 - Accurate fourth-minute ball towards Saka. Set up Henderson for the opener, dragging the ball back after a rapid attack down the left. Superb break for the second goal. So mature, so good. AFP

Jordan Henderson 8 - Put England ahead against the run of play – after making his own run to meet a Bellingham pass and slide the ball past Mendy. England have already scored 12 goals in the World Cup finals – equalling their best ever. EPA

Phil Foden 8 - Set up the second for Kane after making a smart run to offer Bellingham options. Super set-up for the third for Saka. England needed individual moments of brilliance, Foden provided two of them. AP

Harry Kane 8 - Surrounded by green shirts in early England attacks, but held the ball up well. Shot over after 41, then scored the second on 47. Effective dropping deep and then passing or shooting. Chopped down by Koulibaly on 75. Impressive. AP

Bukayo Saka 6 - Poor first half, especially when he gave the ball away that led to Senegal’s best chance. Crossed for Kane on 41. Better in the second half, scoring the third after 57 with a lovely lift. PA

SUBS: Marcus Rashford (Saka 64') 7 - Earned his 50th England cap. The closest he came to scoring was from a deep Shaw cross on 90 minutes. PA

Jack Grealish (Foden 64') 7 - That England can bring players on of his quality shows the strength in depth for Gareth Southgate. Beaten by an 89th minute one-two. AP

Mason Mount (Bellingham 76') 7 - The Chelsea midfielder won’t be taking Bellingham’s place any time soon, but steady as ever when he came on. And he let it go at the end shouting ‘Come on!’ to the celebrating England fans. AFP

Eric Dier (Stones 76') 7 - Charged with keeping the status quo and the lead. Which is exactly what he did for England’s biggest World Cup knockout win since a 3-0 triumph against Denmark 20 years ago. AP

Kalvin Phillips (Henderson 81') N/A - Not the driving force he was for England in the Euros. Not yet, anyway. Getty

SENEGAL RATINGS: Edouard Mendy 4 - Beaten twice in the first half in comfortable fashion. The goalkeeper didn’t look at ease in this one, and made no saves of note. AFP

Ismail Jakobs 5 - Defended well and was aware of overlapping runs from Walker, but he was caught napping by Saka who snuck in front of him to score England’s third. AFP

Abdou Diallo 5 - Not as influential as his centre-back partner, while his positioning could have also been better. Made a number of clearances in the second half when the game was already lost. AFP

Kalidou Koulibaly 7 - Made a number of defensive plays but wasn’t helped out enough by the players around him. Booked for a foul on Kane in the final 15 minutes. Getty

Youssouf Sabaly 4 - Looked more comfortable when going forward, but struggled defensively on a night where England profited regularly down the flank. AFP

Nampalys Mendy 5 - Should have done more to deal with Bellingham. Kept things simple in possession, and was accurate with his passing. AFP

Pathe Ciss 4 - Too sloppy with his passing from midfield, and was taken off at the break as part of a triple substitution. AFP

Ismaila Sarr 6 - Looked like one of the few Senegal players who could make something happen, but his only chance of the first half was flashed over the bar. AFP

Iliman Ndiaye 4 - An anonymous display from Ndiaye who was substituted at the break by Senegal manager Aliou Cisse. AP

Krepin Diatta 5 - Showed his pace but couldn’t time his runs to get into promising areas. Replaced at half-time. AP

Boulaye Dia 6 - Had Senegal’s best chance of the game with a powerful left-footed strike that forced Pickford to make a strong save. AFP

SUBS: Bamba Dieng (Ndiaye 46') 4 - Brought on to help get his side back into the game but soon found his team 3-0 down. Senegal rarely got the ball to Dieng, who gave it away when he did receive possession. AP

Pape Gueye (Ciss 46') 5 - Faced similar problems to Ciss, in a midfield battle that England dominated. Getty

Pape Matar Sarr (Diatta 46') 5 - Blasted an effort over the bar that summed up Senegal’s threat going forward. Getty

Famara Diedhiou (Dia 72') N/R - Anonymous when substituted on in the final 18 minutes. EPA

Fodo Toure (Jakobs 85') N/R - Introduced for the final minutes of Senegal’s 2022 World Cup campaign. AFP

"It's a fantastic challenge. It's a historic rivalry with great games from the past. It's a brilliant game for us to be involved in and test ourselves against the very best.

"Mbappe is of course a world-class player. He has already delivered big moments in this tournament and in previous tournaments," Southgate added.

"Griezmann is also a phenomenal player, we know [Olivier] Giroud so well and they have outstanding midfield players as well. It is a huge test but one we are really looking forward to."

Although England have good reason to fear France, Southgate can counter by pointing out his team are rounding into form as they enter the business end of the tournament.

Kylian Mbappe will be France's chief threat against England, while Olivier Giroud has also been in fine form. AFP

England have already scored 12 goals in four matches at this year's World Cup, the country's joint-most at a single major tournament.

The key to England's victory against Senegal was Jude Bellingham, who became the first teenager to register an assist in a World Cup knockout match since 1966 when he laid on Henderson's opener.

The 19-year-old midfielder was also involved in Kane's goal and proved the catalyst for all of England's best moments as they turned the tide following Senegal's bright start.

Saluting Bellingham's development just two years after he was playing in the English second tier with Birmingham, Southgate said: "I think the biggest thing is the mentality.

Jude Bellingham produced another superb display for England against Senegal. PA

"We've done a lot of work with young players over the years but the thing that makes the difference, is the mindset, the drive, the desire to learn. He has all of that. I don't think we could predict how quickly he would mature. That's gone to another level in the last three months.

"We've wanted to invest in young players on the basis they could be something special. You suffer a bit with that at first because they are not going to be perfect when they come in. Further down the line you get these types of performances."

Watching Tottenham striker Kane score his first goal of the tournament was another boost for Southgate.

"You could see the lift that gave Harry. His link play started to come together again," he said.

"For any striker when you haven't scored it's in the back of your mind and when you get that goal it is a great lift of confidence. That will do him the world of good."