Gareth Southgate claims England broke Wales' morale with their two quick-fire goals early in the second half as the Three Lions pounced into the World Cup last 16.
England sent their neighbours home from Qatar and set up a tie against Senegal with a convincing 3-0 victory on Tuesday evening. The vital moments in the match came shortly after the interval, when Marcus Rashford broke the deadlock with a fine free kick and Phil Foden finished from close range less than two minutes later.
While Rashford added his second after a mazing run in the 68th minute, Southgate suspected the Dragons knew they were beaten over a quarter of an hour earlier, following Foden's tap-in from a Harry Kane square pass.
"I thought in the first half we controlled the game but didn't create enough chances," Southgate told BBC Sport. "We wanted more thrust and threat, to play forward quicker. Once we got the two goals, we knew their spirit was gone, it has been a tough tournament for them."
The England boss reserved special praise for Rashford, saying: "It's great for him, he has trained really well. He has been impressive since he came back to us, he could have had a hat-trick. That free kick is what he is capable, it's an incredible strike.
"In moments, I thought both of them [Rashford and Foden] were quiet in the first half, so we switched wings. They responded well, for both to get goals was great."
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Southgate's suspicion that Wales knew they were beaten early in the second half was confirmed by Dragons winger Dan James, who admitted "conceding early killed us". The on-loan Fulham star said: "We always knew it would be tough. I thought we defended well at times but they can score with anything. Conceding early [in the second half] killed us.
"Against these top teams, to concede one is difficult, but two in five minutes, it is very hard to come back. The game left us after that. We have to look at ourselves - we are super proud to be here, we concentrate on qualifying for the next Euros now. I want to thank all the fans who came out here, you have been fantastic."
Wales manager Rob Page added: "The first goal was a wonderful strike, the second one disappointed me a little bit, but I don't want to talk about negatives today. The boys have put a shift in. We disappointed to be leaving the tournament but if you're going to go out, that's the way. That first half performance, again, was excellent."
