Syndicated reporting provided by Stats Perform and reviewed by the SoccerNews editorial team.
Jude Bellingham scored a goal and provided an assist as England overcame a stubborn Panama side to win 2-0 at New York and New Jersey Stadium and top Group L.
After Marcus Rashford missed a couple of good chances in the first half, Thomas Tuchel’s side began to become frustrated in front of goal.
However, Real Madrid star Bellingham made the crucial breakthrough in the 62nd minute as he found the bottom-left corner from Bukayo Saka’s out-swinging corner.
Bellingham turned provider for England’s second five minutes later, as his delivery was glanced into the back of the net by Harry Kane, who became England’s all-time leading goalscorer at the World Cup with 11 goals, overtaking Gary Lineker (10).
The result sees England top Group L and progress to the round of 32 where they will either face DR Congo or Senegal.
Speaking to reporters after the game, Bellingham said, “The first job achieved. we came here to do it in sections and now we’ve achieved that first objective to get through the group and to top it as well.
“We knew what level we wanted to achieve and we did it second half. Every game we’ve got to improve and it’s up to us to achieve that.
“The assist was a good combination of play and the [England World Cup goalscoring] record is everything Harry Kane deserves.”
— FIFA World Cup (@FIFAWorldCup) June 27, 2026
Meanwhile, Panama will exit the World Cup knowing they tried their best against the Three Lions.
The Central American side came into this contest after losing 1-0 to Ghana and Croatia in their opening two World Cup fixtures.
Thomas Christiansen’s side defended brilliantly for the majority of the game, looking to counter England whenever they could, but they eventually conceded midway through the second half.
Speaking to RPC Radio after the game, Panama winger Jose Luis Rodriguez said, “Very happy with the team’s performance. In the end, we didn’t get the results we expected, but we competed until the end.
“We didn’t give up. Perhaps in the first few matches we need to be more clinical in front of goal, like we were in this game. But I’m very happy with how we played in the matches because, in the end, we fought, we didn’t give up, and we’re left with that.
“We tried to close down the spaces well, try to play on the counter-attack, obviously in the second half we decided to take a few more risks, but in the end it’s football and I want to thank my teammates for fighting until the end.”
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