Bellingham and Kane send England through as Group L winners

England needed a second-half push to break Panama down, but two goals in the space of five minutes did the job. Jude Bellingham and Harry Kane struck either side of the hour at MetLife Stadium to send Thomas Tuchel’s side through as winners of Group L, a 2-0 result that wrapped up top spot and a clean passage into the World Cup knockouts.

A slow burn, then a quick double

For an hour this was the kind of game England have made a habit of at this tournament: plenty of the ball, plenty of territory, not much end product. Panama sat deep in front of a New Jersey crowd of more than 80,000 and dared England to find a way through. The breakthrough finally came in the 62nd minute, Bellingham arriving to sweep home from a Bukayo Saka corner after the set piece was worked back across the box.

Five minutes later the game was effectively over. Bellingham turned provider, hanging a ball up for Kane to attack, and the captain did the rest with a header that gave the Panama goalkeeper no chance. From a contest that had looked like drifting toward a frustrating draw, England had two goals and the group in the space of 300 seconds.

Top spot, and the case for England

The win leaves England top of Group L on seven points, a point clear of Croatia, with the two sides who met on the opening night both coming through the group. Tuchel’s team finished with two wins and a draw, six goals scored and only two conceded, the goalless stalemate with Ghana the one blot on the record. Few would call this a vintage England campaign, but topping a group that contained a Croatia side they had already edged in a wild 4-2 opener is a solid platform.

The bigger question is whether the performances catch up with the results. England have looked controlled rather than commanding, and the second-half nature of so many of their goals hints at a team still feeling for its best gear. With the knockouts here, the margin for a slow start narrows considerably.

Panama go home, the rest of the group survives

For Panama, this was the end of the road. They finished bottom of the group with no points and no goals across their three matches, beaten by England, Croatia and Ghana in turn. It was a chastening return to the World Cup stage for a side that had hoped the expanded 48-team format would let them be competitive.

The expanded field did smile on the others, though. Croatia went through as runners-up after their own 2-1 win over Ghana, and Ghana themselves advanced as one of the best third-placed teams, meaning three of the four Group L sides carry on into the round of 32. England now wait to learn their knockout opponent once the remaining groups settle, with the draw for the last 32 hinging on how the third-placed permutations fall.

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