England beat Papua New Guinea 34–12 but face steep World Cup qualification hurdle

England defeated Papua New Guinea 34–12 on Friday but remain close to elimination from the Rugby League World Cup after failing to turn a fast start into the substantial victory they needed. BBC Sport reported that England can now reach the semi-finals only if Tonga beat Samoa by more than 46 points.

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The pressure to accumulate points followed England's opening defeat by Tonga. An 82–0 win against France had kept their challenge alive, but they still entered the Papua New Guinea match needing to close a 68-point gap on Samoa. Winning alone was therefore not enough to put Brian McDermott's side in a strong position for qualification.

For the opening quarter, England made progress towards that target. Matty Ashton, AJ Brimson, Dominic Young and Harry Smith all scored tries as they moved 22–0 ahead. BBC Sport's account described how lost possession and penalties then interrupted their attack, allowing opponents who had been under sustained early pressure to regain a foothold.

NRL.com's match report recorded nine England errors before the interval at WIN Stadium in Wollongong. A Hugo Savala penalty goal in the 40th minute was their only further addition before half-time, leaving the score at 24–0. That slowdown prevented England from building on the platform created by their first four tries.

Papua New Guinea then reduced the deficit with two tries after the restart. According to NRL.com, Dudley Dotoi scored in the 45th minute after beating Young to a high ball, before Gairo Voro broke through from close range. Rhyse Martin's conversion after Voro's effort brought the score to 24–12, cutting England's advantage in half.

Morgan Knowles finally added another England try in the 69th minute, and Mikey Lewis crossed in the closing seconds. Those scores secured a 22-point winning margin, but did not restore the possibility of a large enough result to leave England needing only a narrow Tonga victory.

Attention now turns to Sunday's Tonga–Samoa meeting. NRL.com put England's requirement at a 47-point Tonga win. England have finished their own pool programme with a victory, but qualification remains dependent on a result elsewhere rather than anything more they can do on the field.