It was Senegal who had the best opening of the first half-hour as Dia’s shot was blocked by Stones before the ball fell to Ismaïla Sarr, who fired over from close range as Jordan Pickford fell at his feet.
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Having survived those concerning moments, England showed the quality to go ahead as a slick move culminated in Jude Bellingham sliding the ball across for Jordan Henderson to coolly finish.
After previously enduring two games without a first-half goal, the Three Lions had two in 10 minutes as Bellingham marched forward before playing the ball to Phil Foden, who tidily slipped in Harry Kane with the captain’s composed finish marking his 10th FWC goal contribution.
Cissé responded to that double blow with a triple change at HT, though it did little to change the flow of the game, and a venomous Kane strike had to be awkwardly saved by Édouard Mendy as England played with freedom.
Meanwhile, Senegal fell a game short of their best finish after joining Nigeria and Ghana as the third African nation to qualify for the knockout stages twice.
