Declan Rice and England progressed to the quarter-finals of the 2022 FIFA World Cup finals following a 3-0 win over Senegal on Sunday evening.
On the West Ham United skipper’s 38th England cap, goals from Liverpool midfielder Jordan Henderson and Tottenham Hotspur forward Harry Kane gave England a two-goal advantage by the interval at Al Bayt Stadium.
Arsenal forward Bukayo Saka then added a third to secure a spot in the last eight when he converted a Phil Foden cross just before the hour.
Rice and company will now aim for a successive World Cup semi-final when they take on France in the last eight on Saturday 10 December at 7.00pm GMT.
As he did throughout the group stage, Rice sat ahead of his country’s back-four and protected centre-backs Harry Maguire and John Stones to secure England’s third clean sheet in four games.
A clinical showing in their last 16 fixture saw Gareth Southgate’s men take the lead when Jude Bellingham made a forward run and found Henderson. The Liverpool midfielder’s left-footed strike beat Chelsea goalkeeper Edouard Mendy to find the net six minutes before the break.
Bellingham was then part of the move that saw the Three Lions double their lead. The 19-year-old burst forward and freed Foden, who found Kane. The England skipper then thrashed home a second with what was the last kick of the first 45 minutes.
England might have added a third when Rice won the ball after the break, although Saka could not convert from inside the area.
But the Arsenal winger retained his composure to put England three goals ahead when he tapped in Foden’s cross with 57 minutes played.
Rice completed his third full match of the World Cup against Senegal and will look forward to a clash with the defending champions in six days' time.
