It was jubilance for England on Tuesday night, as they put three past their Welsh rivals to knock the Dragons out, whilst the Three Lions confirmed their qualification from the group stage.

Manager Gareth Southgate spoke to the press following his side's progress through to the Round of 16, where they will come up against Group A runners-up Senegal.

  • Southgate's assessment

The England boss was predictably pleased with the goalscoring display put on in the second 45, though he wasn't too impressed with the first half.

"I'm really pleased with the way we dealt with the occasion really. We had control of the game throughout. Our back players were very comfortable with the ball - we were making (Wales) do a lot of chasing, and the only criticism is that in the first half is that I thought we could have played forward a little bit earlier, and we didn't create enough clear-cut chances.

"In the second half, once we'd got the goal; it was a great run from Phil (Foden), and fantastic quality from Marcus (Rashford); then it opened up a bit and then it became a much harder game for Wales."

  • "Goals from all areas"

There's an importance of goals coming from all over the team, not just those leading the line. Five goals throughout England's successful group stage campaign were scored by midfielders, most recently Phil Foden who netted their second against Wales.

"You need goals from all areas, and of course it's a problem for opposition teams if the threat is coming from other areas of the pitch, so we have talked about that a lot.

"Across the three games, pretty much all of our forward line have got off the mark. If not with goals, then with important assists, and quality assists, and that's a good place for the forwards to be. They want to have that confidence, and it's competition for places, which you need, and people have to deliver.

"But, in general, I thought our forwards were good; I thought our midfield were excellent tonight - they really controlled the game, they won so much second ball, they pressed really well, and they made the opportunities quite often for the forwards. That also made the job of the defenders a lot easier than it might have been."

  • Recognition for Rashford

Since his call-up to Gareth Southgate's 26-man squad, it's been a rollercoaster of a ride for Manchester United forward Marcus Rashford.

He chipped in to help the Three Lions to a convincing 6-2 opening victory over Iran, before two fantastic strikes to overcome Wales raised him into the position of joint-top scorer in the tournament (3).

This emphatic World Cup display from Rashford comes after he missed a spot-kick in the European Championships Final shootout against Italy last year, which England went on to lose.

"It's been a challenge for (Marcus) - I went and saw him in the Summer, and had a long chat with him, and he had some clear ideas on things he needed to think about and do.

"You can see, with his club, there's been happiness in his performances this year, and I have to say, that's shown itself on the training ground all the time with us.

"We've got a different version completely to the player we had in the Euros last Summer, so he's managed to produce those moments tonight - he could've had a hat-trick really with the chance in the first half, and then the one at the near post towards the end, but it's great for him and it's great for us."

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  • Selection headache: "strength in depth"

England's opener last Monday saw six goals fly in past Iran - youngster Bukayo Saka and experienced forward Raheem Sterling both got themselves on the scoresheet, to give manager Southgate some 'food for thought.'

Since, they have dropped to the bench for the latest fixture, though the inspired change to insert Marcus Rashford into the lineup has proven its worth.

This now gives the Three Lions coach a selection headache of who to keep and drop ahead of the first knockout versus Senegal, though it's fair to say, there's good squad depth within the group.

"We need strength in depth, and it was also important for us tonight, with Kyle Walker getting minutes, and Kalvin Phillips getting minutes, because you just never know when we're going to need that depth, and different opponents maybe require different qualities when we're preparing the team.

"It's tough because you've got players that didn't get onto the field, and players that will be slightly disappointed with that. But, the spirit in the dressing room at the end was fantastic, and they've got a day their feet now, they don't have to train tomorrow - that's important, especially for the players who haven't started as many games because they've been training every single day and they need that breather."

With England set to face Group A runners-up Senegal this coming Sunday in the Round of 16, Southgate admitted he hadn't been able to see much of the Lions of Teranga in the World Cup, though did attend a match back in September.

"I saw (Senegal) play Iran in Vienna in September, so I had a good look at them then, and from now, from when we get on the coach to go home, we'll be studying the games now to prepare. We obviously know quite a few of the individuals. There's some big players playing in some big leagues in Europe, and some playing in England. We know that on the rankings, we'll be the favourites - we've got to deal with that, we play a very dangerous team."

  • Belief is key

The 2018 World Cup, held in the controversial country of Russia, saw England's highest final placement since 1990. A fourth-place finish was quite the surprise for many fans, who had belief that their nation were barely capable of winning a knockout match.

Now, the Three Lions will go into tournaments as one of the favourites, and with bags of confidence and belief too.

"I think definitely compared to Russia, there's a different mentality about the whole group. There's more belief, our objectives are different."

In Russia, we were just thinking about 'could we win a knockout game'. There's more expectation now, but more confidence and more experience of big matches. I don't know if we're ahead of where we were last Summer, but definitely, we're pleased that the objective we set out to do - the first objective is achieved."

"The spirit of the team is good. We've got most of the group on the pitch, which is fabulous for the dynamic of the group. No yellow cards I think as well, which is a really good position for us."

  • Heading home with pride

Rob Page's Wales may not have been able to detach themselves from the bottom of a difficult group, though the Dragons' gaffer believes it's a momentous achievement to even reach the world stage, and it's something to learn from.

"We learn from things that have happened today. Overall, I said how proud I was, I had all the staff in the changing room as well and said, we're all extremely proud of even getting to the World Cup."

Page was also full of praise for the 'Red Wall' of well-travelled Welsh fans, who turned up in Qatar in numbers.

"I thought our supporters were incredible at the end as well, so to get here was a massive achievement. We're disappointed because we know in a couple of the games, we haven't really shown our true colours, and that's probably the most frustrating thing for me and the group of players - they know that themselves, I don't need to tell them that.

"It's important we learn from it because we've had a taste of it now (the World Cup and the Euros), and we want to continue to qualify."

  • On the England defeat

Wales' so-called 'local rivals' England smashed three past them in the closing match of Group B, but it took until the second half for Southgate's side to break-through.

Page expressed his commendation on the first-half performance, where the Dragons managed to act as a roadblock against their opponents, though football is a game of two halves.

"I thought in the first half, the boys were excellent, we changed the shape, I thought they were very disciplined in the defending.

"It's a very, very good England team, they didn't carve us open, I wasn't worried at all. If anything, I was encouraged by our first half performance.

"The problem that we had was within three minutes of the second half, we were 2-0 down. One with a world-class strike, the other, we've gifted them it, and when you gift top teams like that, they take it with both hands, and it's so frustrating to find ourselves 2-0 down in the first five minutes of the second half, and then we've got a mountain to climb again.

"Overall, the first half against USA, we were disappointed with, we were better in the second half, and Iran was a complete write-off for us, so of course we look back with frustration, but it's an amazing achievement for that group of players to get here in the first place, so we build on that. I think (England) are going to do well in the tournament."

  • Not the 'last time in a Welsh jersey' for Bale

Gareth Bale's ultimate World Cup journey may have been cut short due to a first-half injury, however boss Page has revealed it may not be the ex-Real Madrid winger's last appearance in red.

"He wants what's best for the team, he understands that. If he'd have gone back out, he'd probably have been about 70%. When you're playing against a team like that, you can't carry anybody, and we needed people out there willing to run into the ground, and he's done that for us in the first half, I thought he was excellent in the first half.

"I don't think it will be the last time you see him in a Welsh jersey."

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