‘First job achieved’ – Bellingham thrilled to clinch top spot in Group L

Syndicated reporting provided by Stats Perform and reviewed by the SoccerNews editorial team.

Jude Bellingham was thrilled England achieved their first objective at the World Cup, having topped Group L with a 2-0 win over a stubborn Panama side.

Thomas Tuchel’s side were largely frustrated for the first hour at New York New Jersey Stadium, with Marcus Rashford seeing a couple of chances go begging.

However, 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).

In fact, aged 22 years and 363 days, Bellingham became the youngest England player on record (since 1966) to both score and assist in a World Cup match, and the fourth overall for the Three Lions.

And the victory means England, who had already sealed their place in the last 32 prior to kick-off, finished top of Group L and will face DR Congo in the next round.

Speaking to reporters after the game, Bellingham said: “The first job [is] 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 on the back of three straight wins, but despite being eliminated before their last game, they gave England a stern test.

The Central American side became just the sixth team to lose their first six games at the World Cup, with 50% of those nations reaching the milestone at this edition (also Haiti and Iraq). 

Thomas Christiansen’s side defended brilliantly for the majority of the game, looking to counter England whenever they could, but they eventually conceded just after the hour mark.

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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