BBC face backlash from England fans after Three Lions batter Wales

England fans voiced their frustration at Wales being the focus on the BBC’s pre-match build-up on Tuesday night. The Three Lions ran out 3-0 winners in Qatar to dump their neighbours out of the World Cup. England’s win meanwhile saw them top Group B to reach the last 16 of the tournament. 

After a tense first 45 minutes, Marcus Rashford fired in a brilliant free-kick to give England the lead after 50 minutes, and just a minute later Phil Foden made it 2-0. Rashford then wrapped up proceedings in Doha with 20 minutes to go as he secured his brace.

Gareth Southgate’s side were ultimately convincing winners with Wales managing only one shot on target all match. And while it was one-sided in England’s favour on the pitch, many felt that the BBC gave too much attention to the Welsh ahead of kick-off on their coverage.

Gary Lineker, as usual, was the presenter and was joined by iconic ex-England internationals Alan Shearer and Rio Ferdinand, as well as Wales heroes Ian Rush and Ashley Williams. And one viewer, @Mike_Dickson_DM, wrote on social media: “England going through comfortably. May come as a surprise to BBC Sport, who barely acknowledged they were playing in the TV build-up to this match.”

Earlier, @FootyAccums had posted to Twitter: “Anyone else got BBC Wales on by accident? Think they’ve spent about 30 seconds talking about England so far…”

England were deserving winners at the Ahmad bin Ali Stadium and will now face Senegal in the last 16 of the tournament on Sunday (7pm). Three Lions boss Southgate said to the BBC after beating Wales: “In the first half we really controlled the game but didn’t create enough clear chances.

“We wanted a little more thrust and threat, to play forward a little bit quicker. Second half once we got the two goals, we knew their spirit had probably gone. It’s been a tough, tough tournament for them.

“We kept our discipline and quality right the way to the end. It’s great for Rashford. He’s trained really well and been impressive since he came back in. He could’ve had a hat-trick!

“The free-kick, that’s what he’s capable of. It’s an incredible strike. It’s a nice nigh for us. It’s a big game that comes with a lot of additional pressure but we dealt with it really well, we were calm and we showed our quality.”