England completed 92 percent of its passes and had 57 percent of the possession, scoring six goals on 12 shots. Maybe England is capable of playing deep in this tournament, and this time making more penalty kicks than Germany or Portugal or whatever other historical nemesis or upstart it faces.
Gomez, who spent most of the day standing in the coach’s box with his arms folded, tried to shed a sliver of positive light on the afternoon. “The second half was 1-1,” he said.
England’s fans brought drums and a horn section that included a tuba and enough songs and chants to last all afternoon. Good thing, because the destruction began early, with defender John Stones getting so free for a header on a corner kick in the 8th minute that he looked more stunned than joyous when the ball sailed into the back of the net. Stones also headed in England’s fourth goal in the 40th minute, knocking in the rebound of a Jaime Penedo save.
Kane netted one of the softer hat tricks in World Cup history. He banged in two first-half penalty kicks and unwittingly got his heel in the way of Ruben Loftus-Cheek’s shot from 20 yards in the 62nd minute. The ball skittered past a helpless Jaime Penedo in Panama’s net.
“He said ‘sorry mate,’ ” Loftus-Cheek said Kane told him after he had possibly stolen his chance at goal. “That’s the luck of it.”
Kane took a seat on the bench after that goal. Midfielder Jessie Lingard worked a nifty give-and-go with Raheem Sterling and rocketed a shot from the left side of the 18-yard line for England’s other score.
Kane is now the leading scorer in the tournament with five goals, though he said there is a long way to go with plenty of other stars in the field, and that is hardly what he cares about most.
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“The most important thing is that we’re winning games,” the Tottenham striker said. “If my goals are helping us win games then that’s a good thing.”
So, what to make of England? The English have qualified for the knockout round from their group with Belgium, who they will play Thursday in Kaliningrad. The match will determine only whether the team faces Poland, Senegal, Colombia or Japan in the round of 16. None of those teams will cause anyone any sleepless nights at the team’s base camp in Repino, just north of St. Petersburg.
Southgate described his team as “ruthless” for a 35-minute stretch in the first half.
“Just before halftime, the game was done,” he said.
Skeptics might toss darts at the team. For example, only two of England’s six goals came from the run of play Sunday — as if that sort of thing matters — since set pieces play such a large role in big tournaments. Or, the defense has not exactly looked impenetrable, letting Tunisia draw even in the first match and allowing two easy chances early against Panama. In the 78th minute, 37-year-old Felipe Baloy, a Panama reserve, slipped into the penalty area to to get his foot on the other end of a free kick from 40 yards to give Panama its first-ever goal at a World Cup.
But no team’s defense looks like a bulwark at this World Cup. That is the nature of the international game, since defense depends so much on teamwork and timing, and national teams only spend about 30 days together in any given year.
No one needed to look at a statistics sheet in either match to surmise that both Panama and Tunisia are just not very good. Yet, it is not England’s fault that its draw included a gutsy but undermanned Tunisia team and the first team ever to qualify for the World Cup from Panama.
After England found the goal just twice in 17 chances in its first match, Southgate said he was thrilled with the win, even though England needed Kane’s stoppage-time goal to prevail. He said he enjoyed that game more than the massacre of Panama, because he enjoyed the tension. The former England international has been around long enough to know that most of the battle in soccer is creating quality chances, and if a team’s players are as world class as England’s are, eventually those attempts will start to hit the back the net.
Now Southgate has decisions to make. Should he rest his starters and give reserves who have not played a match in several weeks a chance to play, or should he keep his foot on the gas and try to beat Belgium and win the group? It’s a luxurious choice for any manager to have after two World Cup matches, especially one coaching a team where the tension and the fear of failure is often at a fever-pitch from the opening kick.
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“We must enjoy this win,” Southgate said. “We must enjoy that we’ve qualified because it is not easy, no matter the opponent.”
Here’s how England defeated Panama:
90’: Four More Minutes...
We have four minutes of added time, for some reason.
85’: Panama Needs to Pick Up the Pace!
Panama hasn’t scored a goal in the last five minutes, which means they now need to quicken the pace to one goal every minute to draw England. Can they do it? Stay tuned to find out!
78’: Panama Scores!
The comeback is on! Panama scores their first World Cup goal ever!
Ricardo Ávila plays a free kick in behind the English defense, and Felipe Baloy meets it with a nice sliding shot.
Panama now just needs to score a goal every two minutes to win a point in this game.
76’: Chance for Panama...
Román Torres pops free at the back post on a corner, but he slides his shot wide.
70’: Substitutions
Right wing back Kieran Trippier comes out for Danny Rose.
Also, somewhere in there after Harry Kane’s hat trick, he and Jesse Lindgard came out for Jamie Vardy and Fabian Delph.
Felipe Baloy, Ricardo Ávila and Abdiel Arroyo are in for Panama. Both teams have used all of their substitutions.
66’: Can’t They Give Them Just One?
England rudely denies Panama their best chance yet at a goal.
Jordan Pickford denied Michael Murillo one-on-one, but couldn’t he have just led the Panamanian score as a confidence booster?
62’: Kane Again! Hat Trick!
Oh no, poor Panama. Harry Kane makes it 6-0. Ruben Loftus-Cheek’s shot from outside the box clipped off the heel of Kane, who was just trying to get out of the way, and wrong-foots Jaime Penedo, who had no chance.
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57’: England Busted for Pulling Shirts
The referee blows his whistle for some shirt pulling in the Panama box, and everybody is relieved to see it’s called on England and isn’t a third penalty.
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53’: When Will Goal Six Come?
England are still trying for a sixth, and it seems likely they’ll get it. Raheem Sterling has already gotten in behind, only to be denied by an alert goalkeeper, and they’re bypassing Panama’s lines with ease.
46’: Still a Second Half...
Apparently they haven’t called the match, and we’re going to play the second half. Is England going to try scoring, or will they sit back and be content to manage their five goal lead?
Halftime
England is winning 5-0. They are comprehensively better than Panama, who have gifted the Three Lions two penalties, left John Stones (John Stones!) completely unmarked on both a corner kick and free kick to score two goals, and have been sloppy with the few chances they did have.
45+1’: Make it 5 Goals for England!
Another penalty for Harry Kane, another wallop by the goalkeeper into the top left of the goal. Kane now has four goals, joining Romelu Lukaku and Cristiano Ronaldo in the race for the Golden Boot.
If this were a Little League match the mercy rule would’ve already been invoked.
Matthew Futterman: Amazingly, Hernan Gomez said yesterday that this match might be uglier than the 3-0 loss to Belgium. And yes it is.
It’s worth remembering now, once again, that Panama finished third in Concacaf qualifying. Team USA finished fifth. Those matches included a 1-1 draw in Panama City. Stew on that for a bit before you get too haughty if you are an American soccer fan.
43’: Penalty to England!
Oh my god, it’s getting even worse for Panama. Aníbal Godoy bear-hugged Harry Kane on a corner kick. Kane was manhandled in the same way against Tunisia, but it was never called. This time it is.
Matthew Futterman: The marking was much better on that set piece for Panama, except that someone forgot to tell them that bear-hugging is not allowed in the World Cup either.
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40’: England Scores Again!
Suddenly John Stones has scored two goals in the World Cup. After a nice little free kick move, Harry Kane heads the ball across the goal to Raheem Sterling. His attempt is well-saved by Jaime Penedo, but Stones puts in the rebound with his head.
36’: Goal for England!
Jesse Lindgard’s 25-yard curler ticks off the bottom of the cross bar and in. It came after a nice 1-2 with Raheem Sterling, and at 3-0 the rout is officially on at this point.
Matthew Futterman: In my daughter’s league when you get six goals ahead you can’t shoot anymore. What is the mercy rule at the World Cup? For what it’s worth, Panama-Tunisia may be a really good, meaningless match.
29’: Panama Attacking
Panama finally controls the ball for a number of passes and gets a great ball in behind the defense, but once again the attack ends without a threatening shot on goal.
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22’: 2-0 to England!
After a short run-up, Harry Kane thumps the ball into the top left corner of the goal.
Panama was already struggling in this match. Just about the last thing they needed was to give away a penalty.
Matthew Futterman: What you missed while the cameras followed Kane’s celebration — Panama grabbed the ball and tried the old schoolyard trick of restarting while the other team is off the field. Referee Ghead Grisha had to blow his whistle and explain that is not allowed at the World Cup.
20’: Penalty to England!
Jesse Lindgard controlled the ball over the top, and was bundled over by Fidel Escobar. Referee Ghead Grisha didn’t hesitate in awarding it.
16’: Pressure by Panama
Édgar Bárcenas’s curving shot from outside the box sends Jordan Pickford into a full dive, but it’s outside the post. Panama keeps getting chances though ...
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Matthew Futterman: Panama has now had two good chances and missed the goal badly on both. How many more will they get this afternoon? My guess is not very many. The only way these small teams win is if they are completely clinical on their chances.
12’: England Sloppy Despite Leading
England is clearly the better team, but they’ve had a few bad giveaways in their own half. If Panama was a sharper side, it would be a big problem.
10’: Foul
Armando Cooper is booked for stepping on Jesse Lindgard’s heel.
Photo
8’: England Goal!
For John Stones, who was completely unmarked on a header, and powers it into the bottom left corner from the penalty spot.
It’s actually incredible how unmarked Stones was. There was no intricate movement or feint, he just ran past his marker to the ball.
Matthew Futterman: I’m not really sure what Panama was thinking there. How do you not mark the really tall defender in the middle of the penalty area on a corner kick?
5’: Panama Chance
Panama wastes a great chance. Aníbal Godoy was slipped in on goal, but his shot is blasted over.
Break Time
Things have stopped here for a few minutes after Jesse Lindgard was elbowed in the face going for a header.
0’: Kickoff!
We are underway from Nizhny! England is in white, Panama in red.
It’s Hot!
Matthew Futterman: It’s seriously hot here in Nizhny. On paper, the heat may be the only thing that can stand in the way of England in this one. They’ve got much better, much younger players, amd overwhelming numbers in the stands, too. No offense to Panama, which did amazing work just to get here. As my friend and former colleague and Englishman Jon Clegg likes to say, the Brits can sometimes turn a funny shade of pink when they get hot and frustrated. That’s what Panama has to be shooting for.
NIZHNY NOVGOROD, KOMPAS.com - Timnas Inggris dan timnas Panama akan melanjutkan perjalanannya di Piala Dunia 2018 saat keduanya bertemu pada laga penyisihan Grup G yang akan digelar pada Minggu (24/6/2018) di Stadion Nizhny Novgorod.
Inggris dipastikan lolos ke babak 16 besar andai mampu mengalahkan Panama pada laga ini. Saat ini, Harry Kane dkk berada di peringkat kedua klasemen berkat kemenangan 2-1 atas Tunisia di laga pertama.
Inggris memiliki selisih tiga angka dari Belgia di peringkat pertama yang sudah bermain terlebih dahulu. Menang atas Panama, Inggris dan Belgia akan otomatis lolos ke 16 besar.
Bagi Panama, laga ini dipastikan akan sangat sulit karena di atas kertas kalah dari segi materi pemain. Jika ingin memperpanjang napas di Piala Dunia 2018 ini, Panama minimal harus meraih satu poin untuk berjuang kembali pada laga terakhir.
Baca Juga: Gilas Tunisia dengan Lima Gol, Belgia Goreskan Tinta Emas di Piala Dunia 2018
Pada laga pertama, Panama meraih hasil buruk saat takluk 0-3 dari Belgia.
Terkait peluang saat menghadapi Inggris, pemain belakang Panama, Harold Cummings, menyebut timnya akan tampil habis-habisan untuk bisa terus bersaing.
"Kami akan berjuang pada laga ini. Kami pergi ke sini untuk bisa terus bersaing. Kami akan melakukan tugas kami melawan tim mana pun yang akan kami hadapi." kata Harold Cummings seperti dikutip dari BBC, Sabtu (23/6/2018).
Jadwal siaran langsung: Minggu, 24 Juni 2018, Trans TV/ K-Vision, 19.00 WIB.
Ini adalah pertemuan pertama antara Inggris dan Panama.
Panama adalah tim ke-38 yang dihadapi Inggris pada putaran final Piala Dunia.
Panama tidak pernah menang dalam 10 laga terakhir saat melawan tim asal benua Eropa.
Inggris masih belum terkalahkan dalam 11 pertandingan terakhir (8 menang dan 3 imbang).
Inggris hanya pernah dua kali bisa menang dalam dua laga secara beruntun di Piala Dunia. Inggris melakukan hal ini pada 1982 dan 2006.
Inggris: Jordan Pickford; Kyle Walker, John Stones, Harry Maguire; Kieran Trippier, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Jordan Henderson, Jesse Lingard, Ashley Young; Marcus Rashford, Harry Kane
Panama: Jaime Penedo; Roman Torres, Fidel Escobar, Michael Murillo, Eric Davis; Gabriel Gomez, Anibal Godoy, Armando Cooper, Edgar Barcenas, Jose Luis Rodriguez; Blas Perez
Danny Murphy has come in for heavy criticism for his commentary during England’s 6-1 World Cup victory over Panama.
The former England midfielder is part of the BBC’s commentary team in Russia this summer and was selected as summariser for the Three Lions’ game second Group G game in Nizhny Novgorod alongside Guy Mowbray.
However, he was panned on social media for being openly biased, as well as his monotone delivery.
England vs Panama: Story of the game 55 show all England vs Panama: Story of the game 1/55 Harry Kane celebrates with team mates after scoring England's second AP 2/55 Jesse Lingard goes up for the ball in between two Panama players AP 3/55 Jesse Lingard receives treatment REUTERS 4/55 England fans EPA 5/55 Gareth Southgate argues with the linesman Getty Images 6/55 Raheem Sterling, Harry Maguire and Harry Kane try to find space in the box Getty Images 7/55 John Stones heads in England's opening goal Getty Images 8/55 AP 9/55 England fans take a selfie AP 10/55 AP 11/55 England players congratulate John Stones after he scored Getty Images 12/55 AFP/Getty Images 13/55 Harry Kane is tackled to the floor by Michael Murillo AFP/Getty Images 14/55 Referee Ghead Grisha shows the yellow card to Panama's Armando Cooper EPA 15/55 Jordan Pickford attempts a save AFP/Getty Images 16/55 Jesse Lingard is fouled by Fidel Escobar inside the penalty area resulting in England being awarded a penalty Getty Images 17/55 Harry Kane takes England's penalty REUTERS 18/55 Harry Kane scores England's second goal from the penalty spot REUTERS 19/55 Harry Kane races off to celebrate his goal followed by his teammates REUTERS 20/55 REUTERS 21/55 Ruben Loftus-Cheek fouls Anibal Godoy and receives a yellow card EPA 22/55 Jesse Lingard scores England's third goal Getty Images 23/55 REUTERS 24/55 Jesse Lingard celebrates scoring his goal with Raheem Sterling AP 25/55 England players celebrate their third goal AFP/Getty Images 26/55 Ashley Young steps in between Harry Maguire and Roman Torres Getty Images 27/55 Referee Ghead Grisha talks with Panama's Michael Murillo and Roman Torres Getty Images 28/55 Kieran Trippier and Jose Luis Rodriguez EPA 29/55 John Stones heads in England's fourth goal EPA 30/55 Getty Images 31/55 England players celebrate with John Stones after he scored his second goal of the match and England's fourth Getty Images 32/55 Panama's goalkeeper Jaime Penedo reacts after England's fourth goal AFP/Getty Images 33/55 Anibal Godoy fouls Harry Kane for a penalty REUTERS 34/55 Harry Kane scores his second goal and England's fifth REUTERS 35/55 Harry Kane celebrates his goal with teammates EPA 36/55 England's fans celebrate AFP/Getty Images 37/55 Panama's coach Hernan Dario Gomez reacts AFP/Getty Images 38/55 Raheem Sterling is tackled by Jaime Penedo Getty Images 39/55 Ruben Loftus-Cheek shoots at goal before it is deflected in off Harry Kane to score England's sixth and to complete his hat-trick REUTERS 40/55 Harry Kane watches the ball go into the net Getty Images 41/55 England players congratulate Harry Kane on scoring his third and England's sixth Getty Images 42/55 Harry Kane is congratulated by Gareth Southgate as he is substituted off Getty Images 43/55 Michael Amir Murillo misses a chance to score REUTERS 44/55 Felipe Baloy scores Panama's first goal Getty Images 45/55 Panama fans celebrate their sides first ever World Cup goal Getty Images 46/55 Felipe Baloy celebrates as England players look on EPA 47/55 Harry Maguire complains to the referee AP 48/55 Jordan Henderson and Alberto Quintero challenge for the ball AP 49/55 Roman Torres reacts as Jordan Henderson shoots AFP/Getty Images 50/55 Getty Images 51/55 John Stones celebrates after the final whistle AP 52/55 Panama players gather on the pitch at the end of the match AP 53/55 Harry Kane clutches the match ball after scoring a hat trick Rex Features 54/55 England fans celebrate their side's victory REUTERS 55/55 Gareth Southgate celebrates England's win Getty Images 1/55 Harry Kane celebrates with team mates after scoring England's second AP 2/55 Jesse Lingard goes up for the ball in between two Panama players AP 3/55 Jesse Lingard receives treatment REUTERS 4/55 England fans EPA 5/55 Gareth Southgate argues with the linesman Getty Images 6/55 Raheem Sterling, Harry Maguire and Harry Kane try to find space in the box Getty Images 7/55 John Stones heads in England's opening goal Getty Images 8/55 AP 9/55 England fans take a selfie AP 10/55 AP 11/55 England players congratulate John Stones after he scored Getty Images 12/55 AFP/Getty Images 13/55 Harry Kane is tackled to the floor by Michael Murillo AFP/Getty Images 14/55 Referee Ghead Grisha shows the yellow card to Panama's Armando Cooper EPA 15/55 Jordan Pickford attempts a save AFP/Getty Images 16/55 Jesse Lingard is fouled by Fidel Escobar inside the penalty area resulting in England being awarded a penalty Getty Images 17/55 Harry Kane takes England's penalty REUTERS 18/55 Harry Kane scores England's second goal from the penalty spot REUTERS 19/55 Harry Kane races off to celebrate his goal followed by his teammates REUTERS 20/55 REUTERS 21/55 Ruben Loftus-Cheek fouls Anibal Godoy and receives a yellow card EPA 22/55 Jesse Lingard scores England's third goal Getty Images 23/55 REUTERS 24/55 Jesse Lingard celebrates scoring his goal with Raheem Sterling AP 25/55 England players celebrate their third goal AFP/Getty Images 26/55 Ashley Young steps in between Harry Maguire and Roman Torres Getty Images 27/55 Referee Ghead Grisha talks with Panama's Michael Murillo and Roman Torres Getty Images 28/55 Kieran Trippier and Jose Luis Rodriguez EPA 29/55 John Stones heads in England's fourth goal EPA 30/55 Getty Images 31/55 England players celebrate with John Stones after he scored his second goal of the match and England's fourth Getty Images 32/55 Panama's goalkeeper Jaime Penedo reacts after England's fourth goal AFP/Getty Images 33/55 Anibal Godoy fouls Harry Kane for a penalty REUTERS 34/55 Harry Kane scores his second goal and England's fifth REUTERS 35/55 Harry Kane celebrates his goal with teammates EPA 36/55 England's fans celebrate AFP/Getty Images 37/55 Panama's coach Hernan Dario Gomez reacts AFP/Getty Images 38/55 Raheem Sterling is tackled by Jaime Penedo Getty Images 39/55 Ruben Loftus-Cheek shoots at goal before it is deflected in off Harry Kane to score England's sixth and to complete his hat-trick REUTERS 40/55 Harry Kane watches the ball go into the net Getty Images 41/55 England players congratulate Harry Kane on scoring his third and England's sixth Getty Images 42/55 Harry Kane is congratulated by Gareth Southgate as he is substituted off Getty Images 43/55 Michael Amir Murillo misses a chance to score REUTERS 44/55 Felipe Baloy scores Panama's first goal Getty Images 45/55 Panama fans celebrate their sides first ever World Cup goal Getty Images 46/55 Felipe Baloy celebrates as England players look on EPA 47/55 Harry Maguire complains to the referee AP 48/55 Jordan Henderson and Alberto Quintero challenge for the ball AP 49/55 Roman Torres reacts as Jordan Henderson shoots AFP/Getty Images 50/55 Getty Images 51/55 John Stones celebrates after the final whistle AP 52/55 Panama players gather on the pitch at the end of the match AP 53/55 Harry Kane clutches the match ball after scoring a hat trick Rex Features 54/55 England fans celebrate their side's victory REUTERS 55/55 Gareth Southgate celebrates England's win Getty Images
Viewers pointed out Murphy regularly referred to England as “we” during the team’s record rout over the Central American side.
One Twitter user called his co-commentary “absolute garbage”, with another urging the BBC to “get rid” of the 41-year-old former Liverpool midfielder.
“Dear BBC Sport. Can you asked Danny Murphy to stop referring to England as ‘we’ seeing as you’re a UK based channel and he should be an unbiased commentator,” another Twitter user wrote.
Another said: “Danny Murphy: ‘We we we...’ The BBC: impartial broadcasting.’”
Others described Murphy as “shockingly biased” and “embarrassing”.
However, other viewers defended Murphy, with one saying: “We are allowed to be patriotic... I’m sure they will be saying ‘we’ on other nations’ commentary.”
Some viewers also rounded on Murphy for his perceived ignorance of certain aspects of world football.
After he suggested “any team in Europe would be proud to have” Nizhny Novgorod Stadium as their ground, one Twitter user responded: “What about any of the teams with much bigger and better stadiums, Danny?”
Another wrote: “Only Danny Murphy could spoil such an enjoyable first half by talking complete s***e from first minute to last.”
Viewers also mocked Murphy earlier in the tournament for his commentary during Spain and Portugal's thrilling 3-3 draw.
"He can’t go over the wall," declared Murphy, moments before Cristiano Ronaldo fired a free-kick over the wall to to equalise in the 88th minute.
"That’s why Danny Murphy is Danny Murphy and Ronaldo is Ronaldo," quipped one Twitter user.
During the England-Panama game, some also voiced displeasure at the 41-year-old’s apparent lack of enthusiasm as the Three Lions recorded their biggest win in World Cup history.
England vs Panama World Cup player ratings 22 show all England vs Panama World Cup player ratings 1/22 England: Jordan Pickford 7 Had very little to do, and was an observer of England’s scoring antics alongside the rest of us Getty 2/22 Kyle Walker 7 Slightly unsure playing out from the back at times, but put in a good last-ditch tackle to deny Perez from close range Getty 3/22 John Stones 8 Showed his aerial ability to get two goals, and one of the better England defenders in possession Getty 4/22 Harry Maguire 7 Good going forward, but could be shaky in possession against better opposition Getty 5/22 Kieran Trippier 7 Great movement combining with Loftus-Cheek, and a couple of great deliveries from set pieces Getty 6/22 Ruben Loftus-Cheek 7 Combined well with Trippier and had a confident start on his full debut. Downside that he picked up a yellow card in the first half Getty 7/22 Jordan Henderson 8 A leader without the armband, Henderson looked confident and assured in possession Getty 8/22 Ashley Young 7 Had little to do defensively but looked good going forward. Will face much tougher tests facing his own goal. Getty 9/22 Jesse Lingard 9 England’s best player in the first half, fouled for the penalty, and scored a brilliant goal. Growing into his own talent. Getty 10/22 Raheem Sterling 7 Average once again, unlucky not to score from the well-worked free kick routine for goal number four for England. Getty 11/22 Harry Kane 8 Kept his calm from the penalty spot and led England from the front. Could be huge going forward against tougher opposition Getty 12/22 Panaman: Jaime Penedo 6 Tried to put off Harry Kane for both penalties and failed. Could do little about the rest of the goals and spent most of the game picking the ball out of his net. Getty 13/22 Michael Murillo 5 One of many to earn himself a yellow card after a poor foul on Raheem Sterling, and not at all comfortable in possession Getty 14/22 Roman Torres 5 The captain led with the unsporting antics from the front. Looked out of his depth as did the rest of his defence. Getty 15/22 Fidel Escobar 5 At fault for the foul that resulted in a penalty, and looked unable to cope with Harry Kane and co Getty 16/22 Eric Davis 5 One of many to have a lack of discipline and a very short fuse, poor. Getty 17/22 Gabriel Gomez 5 An experienced figure that struggled with the pace of the game, and the English attacking talent Getty 18/22 Edgar Barcenas 6 One of the better players for Panama but was taken off just as the game began to open up Getty 19/22 Armando Cooper 5 Another to have poor discipline and earned himself a booking, lacked quality as did many others Getty 20/22 Anibal Godoy 6 Had an early chance which he blasted wide, but did get into decent positions and could pose a threat for Tunisia Getty 21/22 Jose Luis Rodriguez 6 Offered some flashes of talent going forward, but struggled with his final ball Getty 22/22 Blas Perez 6 Had little to feed off going forward, could have had a tap in if it wasn’t for Kyle Walker’s intervention Getty 1/22 England: Jordan Pickford 7 Had very little to do, and was an observer of England’s scoring antics alongside the rest of us Getty 2/22 Kyle Walker 7 Slightly unsure playing out from the back at times, but put in a good last-ditch tackle to deny Perez from close range Getty 3/22 John Stones 8 Showed his aerial ability to get two goals, and one of the better England defenders in possession Getty 4/22 Harry Maguire 7 Good going forward, but could be shaky in possession against better opposition Getty 5/22 Kieran Trippier 7 Great movement combining with Loftus-Cheek, and a couple of great deliveries from set pieces Getty 6/22 Ruben Loftus-Cheek 7 Combined well with Trippier and had a confident start on his full debut. Downside that he picked up a yellow card in the first half Getty 7/22 Jordan Henderson 8 A leader without the armband, Henderson looked confident and assured in possession Getty 8/22 Ashley Young 7 Had little to do defensively but looked good going forward. Will face much tougher tests facing his own goal. Getty 9/22 Jesse Lingard 9 England’s best player in the first half, fouled for the penalty, and scored a brilliant goal. Growing into his own talent. Getty 10/22 Raheem Sterling 7 Average once again, unlucky not to score from the well-worked free kick routine for goal number four for England. Getty 11/22 Harry Kane 8 Kept his calm from the penalty spot and led England from the front. Could be huge going forward against tougher opposition Getty 12/22 Panaman: Jaime Penedo 6 Tried to put off Harry Kane for both penalties and failed. Could do little about the rest of the goals and spent most of the game picking the ball out of his net. Getty 13/22 Michael Murillo 5 One of many to earn himself a yellow card after a poor foul on Raheem Sterling, and not at all comfortable in possession Getty 14/22 Roman Torres 5 The captain led with the unsporting antics from the front. Looked out of his depth as did the rest of his defence. Getty 15/22 Fidel Escobar 5 At fault for the foul that resulted in a penalty, and looked unable to cope with Harry Kane and co Getty 16/22 Eric Davis 5 One of many to have a lack of discipline and a very short fuse, poor. Getty 17/22 Gabriel Gomez 5 An experienced figure that struggled with the pace of the game, and the English attacking talent Getty 18/22 Edgar Barcenas 6 One of the better players for Panama but was taken off just as the game began to open up Getty 19/22 Armando Cooper 5 Another to have poor discipline and earned himself a booking, lacked quality as did many others Getty 20/22 Anibal Godoy 6 Had an early chance which he blasted wide, but did get into decent positions and could pose a threat for Tunisia Getty 21/22 Jose Luis Rodriguez 6 Offered some flashes of talent going forward, but struggled with his final ball Getty 22/22 Blas Perez 6 Had little to feed off going forward, could have had a tap in if it wasn’t for Kyle Walker’s intervention Getty
“Can Danny Murphy please try and sound interested or get a job he likes,” said one viewer.
Another asked: “How many goals do England have to score for Danny Murphy to get a little bit excited?”
Gareth Southgate’s team were 5-0 up by half-time as they sealed a place in the tournament’s second round by thumping Panama.
Spurs striker Harry Kane scored a hat-trick, including two penalties, with a brace from John Stones and a fine finish from Jesse Lingard completing the rout.
Panama’s Felipe Baloy scored a late consolation with his country’s first ever goal at a World Cup.
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For once, at a World Cup finals England could enjoy themselves, cut loose, score a bucket-load of goals, and giggle at the fact that Harry Kane’s hat-trick goal that makes him the tournament top goalscorer was a flukey deflection off his heel.
And so the records tumbled: not since the 1966 final have they scored four or more in one World Cup game and Kane becomes only the third Englishman to bag three at the tournament, joining the illustrious company of Geoff Hurst and Gary Lineker. Goodness knows, Panama were awful but too often these kind of games have been a joyless war of attrition for England, decided only when the blow-hards on the other side run out of steam.
The question now ahead of Thursday’s game against Belgium is whether first or second place in the group suits them best. Both nations have identical records at the top of Group G.
Panama are not non-leaguers - there are no big names among them but the team ranked No55 in the world by Fifa have players at good clubs in the United States and Chile and drew with the US in qualification.
There was no question that Panama were a disorganised bunch, and even worse at defending corners where they marshaled the England players with all the grace of a new pub landlord trying to break up his first fight. England got wise to that quick, with John Stones plundering his first with a header while Panama were consumed with trying to turn Harry Maguire upside down.
