From our Special Envoy in Doha,
Very strong against the weak. Against the strong, we still have to wait. England won the fingers in the nose against the Welsh unworthy of the World Cup level (3-0). A stat to sum up the abysmal level of the defeated: Gareth Bale only touched seven balls in 45 minutes, before going out at the break. The rest, we don’t even dare to talk about it. But let’s talk about this tactical nothingness, the technical approximations worthy of the National and this defensive porosity of a thermal sieve.
We spent the whole evening wondering what this Welsh team had come to do in Qatar. Possibly shopping. There is plenty to do in the Grand Mall which precedes the Ahmad Bin Ali stadium. One or two very expensive, very luxurious polo shirts to go play golf, that’s great, huh Gareth? “We are disappointed not to have always shown our true value (during the three games), regrets Welsh coach Robert Page. The team knows it, I don’t need to tell them. ” Still happy.
As in their first match against Iranians distracted by the political climate of the country, England crushed their opponent to definitively dominate their pool. Rashford (twice) and Foden showed the way to the round of 16 against Senegal. An opponent probably more formidable than anything Garreth Southgate’s men have faced so far. Including the United States, which England had great difficulty in maneuvering during their second pool match.
Southgate accept favorite status against Senegal
But the finalists of Euro 2021 and semi-finalists of the 2018 World Cup are not afraid of anything, not even of their favorite status. Southgate: “I saw Senegal play against Iran (in a friendly) in Vienna. I observed them well. From now on we will study their matches. We know some players who play in major leagues and in England. We know we will be favourites, we have to accept it, but we are playing against a very dangerous team. »
To achieve his ends, the coach can count on the consistency of his team in major competitions as well as on Harry Maguire and his legendary attacking breakthroughs which end in strikes from the left into touch – yes, it really happened. More seriously, Southgate must be satisfied with the return to form of Marcus Rashford, who has become as good on the football field as he was able to be in his charitable endeavors. His two goals on Tuesday are pure genius: the free kick is struck to perfection and his solo number on the 3rd pawn made us nostalgic for the golazo of Javier Pastore against Chelsea in 2014. We do not forget that between the two, a brilliant inspiration from Harry Kane will have allowed Phil Foden to take the break. Even if, here again, one wonders if faced with a real defense, it would have passed. At random, that of the France team.
Rashford thinks about winning
Not that our Blues, hypothetical opponents of the English in the quarter-finals of the World Cup, have the best defense in the universe. But even with four Varane on one leg in front, the offensive trident of the Three Lions would struggle more than in front of the Mepham-Rodon hinge on Tuesday evening. Our innate French arrogance makes us think that all this will only be a formality, that it is impossible to lose against the English and that the latter have anyway shown too many shortcomings against the United States for him to either otherwise.
England also has an interest in being wary of Senegal before thinking of the Blues (who themselves will have to be wary of their future opponent). Even if according to Rashford, they have their eyes fixed on a far more ambitious objective. “Winning trophies is what makes me happiest on the pitch,” said Rashford, out through injury. And I sense ambition in this team. We have a good mix of qualities and a group that is really aiming for the final victory in this tournament. I hope we will be able to repeat this kind of performance and score goals to go far. We are not there yet, but Didier Deschamps knows what to expect.