England beat Panama 2-0 at MetLife Stadium on Saturday to win Group L. Jude Bellingham scored in the 62nd minute and set up Harry Kane, whose header made him England's all-time World Cup top scorer.
England beat Panama 2-0 at MetLife Stadium on Saturday to win Group L. Jude Bellingham scored in the 62nd minute and set up Harry Kane, whose header made him England's all-time World Cup top scorer.
For an hour England dominated the ball but found no way through a packed Panama defence in steady New Jersey rain. Bellingham changed that in the 62nd minute, stabbing home Bukayo Saka's corner with his left foot while being held by Jorge Gutiérrez at the edge of the six-yard box.
Five minutes later he switched roles, crossing from the left for Kane to outjump Andrés Andrade and head past Orlando Mosquera. It was Kane's 11th World Cup goal, one more than Gary Lineker, making him England's record scorer at the tournament.
England had laboured before Bellingham's intervention! Kane registered just ten touches in the first half, the fewest of any player on the pitch.
There wasn't just good news for England. Jarell Quansah, deployed at right-back after Reece James' hamstring injury, twisted his right ankle around the hour mark and limped off. Tuchel flagged a thinning pool of options in the position: "It will be now a very tight race for Quansah, so I'm worried about these two". Tuchel added that attention would switch quickly to the next round. "From tomorrow we will think about round of 32," he said.
Bellingham was named man of the match. "We came here to do it in sections and we got through the pre-games well and we achieved the first job, we got through the group and won it," he said.
He described a sharper second-half mentality. "All the lads were ready to go after halftime," he said. "We realized we had a couple of more gears to go."
Kane praised his teammate's condition. "Jude looks fit, looks sharp," the captain said. "It looks like he's got the bit between his teeth to really go out there and prove to the world what type of player he is."
Panama defender José Córdoba acknowledged the gulf after his side finished bottom of the group. "They have great players. They are worth millions and millions," he said. "We're talking about English football, which is much more developed than in our country and there's a huge distance."
The win lifted England to seven points from two wins and a draw, securing first place in Group L.
This means they will play their last-32 tie against DR Congo, in Atlanta, on July 1st.
