England walked a fine line between assertiveness and arrogance at the World Cup.

As the Euro 2020 runners-up went through the motions of passing the ball without any real urgency at Al Bayt Stadium on Sunday night, Senegal, winners of the Africa Cup of Nations in February, threatened to turn the first half into a nightmare for Gareth Southgate's side.

First, Boulaye Dia took advantage of Manchester United defender Harry Maguire's poor error to give away the ball and gifted Ismaila Sarr with a golden chance to break the deadlock. But the Watford striker lost his footing and blazed over from close-range. Then, Sarr was presented with another glorious opportunity to punish England's carelessness on the ball, and this time around, it was Jordan Pickford who came to the rescue as the goalkeeper demonstrated superb reflexes to make the save.

As Senegal repeatedly exposed the lack of pace of Three Lions' struggling defensive line and preyed on their nerves, Jude Bellingham stepped up to the plate. The 19-year-old refused to let their ambitious opponents dictate the tempo with embarrassing ease and took the game by the scruff of the neck. 

It was the perfect cross from Bellingham that signaled the move for the opener as Jordan Henderson fired the ball home against the run of play. Bellingham also had a hand in England's second as the Borussia Dortmund star combined with 22-year-old Phil Foden before captain Harry Kane netted his first goal in this World Cup.

In doing so, Kane has overtaken legend Gary Lineker as England's all-time top scorer at major tournaments with 11 goals. But it is Bellingham who utterly changed the course of the game.

According to stats provider Opta, he is the first player to bag a goal and an assist at a World Cup before turning 20 since Lionel Messi in 2006. He is also the youngest ever player to notch two assists in one World Cup game since Ronaldo in 1998. During Sunday's tie, the teenager completed 30 of his 33 passes, won all four of his tackles and more than half of his game-high 16 duels.

"I don't want to big up Jude Bellingham too much because he's still young, but he's one of the most gifted players I've ever seen," Bellingham's boyish sidekick Foden told reporters afterwards. "I don't see a weakness in his game. He's got everything, and he's going to be the best midfielder in the world."

It's worth noting that Foden also raised his game at this World Cup, having netted against Wales and providing two assists. Against Senegal, the Manchester City playmaker drove the Three Lions to wrap up the tie as he played the final pass to 21-year-old Bukayo Saka, who demonstrated sensational skill and composure to beat Edouard Mendy with a brilliant dinked finish.

After this spectacular demolition of Senegal, there is no denying that England boast an enviable wealth of precocious attacking talent and Southgate could not hide his satisfaction.

"We've got some super young players we feel is right to give them their head and opportunity," beamed the England coach. "Jude [Bellingham], Phil [Foden] and Bukayo [Saka] in particular tonight, they're heading in a really good direction and it's a good life experience for them. They all stepped up."

Southgate admitted England will encounter their "biggest test" in Qatar when they have a daunting quarterfinal showdown with world champions France, who underlined their title credential with a 3-0 win against Poland earlier in the day.

"It's a fantastic challenge. It's a historic rivalry with great games from the past," Southgate told a press conference. "It is the biggest test we could face. They are world champions, with an incredible depth of talent and outstanding players. They are very hard to play against and score goals against."

"If you want to win the World Cup you have to play the best sides in the world," added Kane, who was just one goal behind Wayne Rooney's all-time record for England. "France are certainly one of those."

Just as Bellingham sends England fans into ecstasy, Kylian Mbappe does the same for France. Against a tenacious Polish side, the 23-year-old provided the assist for Olivier Giroud to score his 52nd international goal to pass Thierry Henry as France's all-time leading scorer, and then reminded the world of his stunning talent by lashing home two blistering second-half strikes.

Mbappe has become the youngest player to score nine World Cup goals, breaking the record held by Eusebio, who scored eight for Portugal at the age of 24 years and 182 days.

"We know about Kylian," observed French coach Didier Deschamps. "We have already seen him, and he speaks on the football pitch. He knows he can change a match in moment. He plays with such joy and smiles. France needed a great Kylian Mbappe tonight and they got one."

The unbridled admiration was shared by Southgate, who is wary of the threat posed by Paris Saint-Germain superstar. "Mbappe is a world-class player who has already delivered big moments in this tournament and in previous tournaments," he said.

"And [Antoine] Griezmann is now over 70 consecutive games for France and he's also a phenomenal player. We know Olivier Giroud so well and they have outstanding young midfield players as well, so everywhere you look when you're studying France, they have an incredible depth in each position."

Aiming a third successive semifinal appearance at major tournaments, England will face a much sterner test of their title credentials at the same stadium against Mbappe and co. on Saturday. But fueled by Bellingham and other young lions, Southgate insisted the fire in his belly is burning as bright as ever.

"It's a brilliant game for us to be involved in and test ourselves against the very best," he declared.

Just bring it on.