SKIPPER: OUR MENTAL STRENGTH ESSENTIAL

Captain Harry Kane hailed the mentality of England after they swept aside Senegal in their World Cup last-16 clash.

Kane became England’s highest ever scorer at major tournaments after Jordan Henderson opened the scoring, with Bukayo Saka wrapping up the victory in the contest at Al Bayt Stadium.

The reward is a crunch quarter-final clash against holders France next Saturday.

Southgate’s side will need to take their performance up a level given some of the problems Africa Cup of Nations winners Senegal were able to cause in a first half that ended with a quickfire England double.

Kane told ITV: “It was really tough, knockout games are never easy.

“I think we’ve showed great maturity through the tournament, and 3-0 against a really good side, credit to the boys, the mentality was top from the beginning and we took our chances when they came.

“We feel good, we’ve got good runners, good players getting forward, and it’s solid at the back, three clean sheets in a row is really important.”

Phil Foden was full of praise for the influential Jude Bellingham, who played key roles in the first two goals for England.

Foden said: “I don’t want to big him up too much because he’s still young, but he’s one of the most gifted players I’ve ever seen.

“I don’t see a weakness in his game, I think he has everything, and I’m sure he is going to be the best midfielder in the world.”

Raheem Sterling missed the win after armed intruders broke into his house overnight while his family were there.

Sterling’s absence is understood to have followed a break-in at his house on Saturday evening, leaving the England international shaken and concerned about the well-being of his children.

When asked if he thought Sterling would figure at the tournament from here, Southgate said on ITV1: “We’ve got to wait and see. At the moment clearly the priority is for him to be with his family.”