England beat Wales to finish top of World Cup pool

England beat Wales to finish top of World Cup poolImage source, Getty ImagesImage caption, England are ranked third in the worldByGareth BaileyBBC Sport WalesPublished1 hour agoEngland underlined their credentials as potential Hockey World Cup winners by sealing top spot in Pool D with an 8-2 win over Wales.Sam Ward took just 73 seconds to open the scoring before Will Calnan deflected in a second.Some brilliant saves from Toby Reynolds-Cotterill kept Wales in the game, but Calnan added his second and Tom Sorsby smashed home a fourth to end the first half.Wales improved in the third, but England captain Zach Wallace scored a fifth from a rebound.Sam Hooper added a sixth through the legs of his Wimbledon Hockey Club team-mate in the fourth, with Henry Croft and Nick Bandurak also scoring.Gareth Furlong scored two late consolation goals from a penalty stroke and penalty corner.England’s high-tempo attack made life difficult for the Welsh defence with clever deflections giving the attackers lots of shooting chances.England had mathematically qualified for the second round after two games, but Zak Jones’ ruthless side showed no signs of letting up.They had 14 penalty corners to just one for Wales, though Wales did score through their lone attempt – with Furlong’s fourth goal of the World Cup moving him top of the scoring charts.The world ranking and funding gap between the two sides was clear as Wales struggled to create chances against a resolute English defence.Many Welsh players have full-time jobs or study, and are responsible for funding their own international travel, with just three of the 20 men in the Wales squad being full-time athletes with GB.Furlong using ‘freedom of fatherhood’ at Hockey World Cup