England are all but mathematically eliminated from the Rugby League World Cup after a dismal second-half collapse against Papua New Guinea on Friday.
Brian McDermott's men needed a 68-point swing from their match against Papua New Guinea and Samoa's match against Tonga to reach the semi-finals of the Rugby League World Cup.
Papua New Guinea were never meant to be pushovers, but a 50-point win wasn't unrealistic, meaning England would have needed an 18-point win from Tonga on Sunday.
And after racing to a 22-0 lead after 21 minutes, a thrashing looked to be on the cards, with England cutting through the PNG defence at every opportunity.
But the tries quickly dried up, with England only able to add two points on the stroke of half-time to give them a 24-0 cushion.
It meant a big second half was needed, but a try from Dudley Dotoi early in the second half put England on the back foot, with London Broncos' Gairo Voro leaving England on the brink.
It took until the 69th minute for England to finally cross the whitewash again through Morgan Knowles, with Mikey Lewis scoring in the corner in the dying moments.
The 34-12 win means England now need a highly unlikely 46-point win from Tonga on Sunday.
Tonga to beat Samoa by 46+ points is 50/1.
Odds displayed in above article correct at time of publishing and subject to change or withdrawal at any time.
