Marcus Rashford’s second-half doubles ushered England to a super exciting 3-0 win over Wales in the Group B stage of the FIFA World Cup to enter into the Round of 16 on Wednesday at Ahmed bin Ali Stadium. With the win, England sabotaged the Welsh hopes to qualify for the knockout stage and send them back home. Completing the 3 matches in the Group stage, England ended as Group B winners with 7 points.
Marcus Rashford’s double goals along with Phil Foden’s solitary strike were enough for England to book their berth in the next round.
After a goalless first half, the match came to life when Rashford take home a free kick from the edge in the 50th minute. In less than a minute, Phil Foden footed Harry Kane’s cross into the net. Rashford then initiated the final blow for England, which went through the legs of goalkeeper Danny Ward to meet the net in the 68th minute.
Wales never threatened England to score even though they needed a four-goal victory to reach the knockout rounds. They had not won the fixture since 1984 to the knockout round.
Wales had a chance to reach the last 16 with a victory over England if the match between Iran & United States ended in a draw. But any hope of that scenario ended after the 3 consecutive goals of England.
Wales’ mascot Gareth Bale was substituted at halftime but made no difference in the game. Their first World Cup for 64 years wither away. Wales’ return to the World Cup stage was for a brief that they finished bottom in the Group stage with a solitary point after 3 matches.
Manchester United player Rashford who struggled with form and injuries a few months ago now led the side to a win with three goals in the tournament.
England couldn’t break down the well-organized opponents USA in the last match and it ended up in a 0-0 draw. The failure had brought the team back into action. Earlier England marked a 6-2 win with Iran. Now England will go into the knockout match with Group A runners-up Senegal.
USA also qualified for the Round of 16, winning the final Group B fixture against Iran. The first-half kick by Cristian Palisic (38’) helped the USA win over Iran at Al Thumama Stadium in Qatar to enter the knockouts in 1-0. Iran once again failed to get past the Group Stage in World Cup.
