ENGLAND 2 | 0 PANAMA
Rutherford, June 28: Jude Bellingham and Harry Kane scored early in the second half, lifting England over Panama 2-0 Sunday and into what appears to be a more favorable bracket for the knockout phase of the World Cup.
On a rainy afternoon before a vocal pro-England crowd that made MetLife Stadium seem like Wembley, Panama held the European power scoreless through a first half when neither team mounted threats and Kane had 10 touches, the fewest of any player.
Bellingham put the Three Lions ahead in the 62nd minute from Bukayo Saka’s corner kick.
Held in bear hug by Jorge Gutierrez at the top of the 6-yard box, Bellingham stuck out his left leg and stabbed the ball past goalkeeper Orlando Mosquera for his third World Cup goal, his second this year.
Five minutes later, Bellingham crossed from the left flank and Kane outjumped Andres Andrade to head the ball in for his 82nd international goal. Kane became England’s record World Cup scorer with his 11th goal, one more than Gary Lineker.
Wearing red jerseys in a tournament for the first time since beating Sweden in a 2018 World Cup quarterfinal, England finished the group with two wins and a draw for seven points. The English play their Round of 32 match Wednesday in Atlanta, likely against Senegal or Congo. The team that advances faces Mexico or Ecuador in Mexico City.
If the Three Lions had dropped to second, they probably would have faced Colombia or Portugal, with the winner meeting Spain, Austria or Algeria.Panama went 0-3 for the second time and joined Iraq, Haiti, El Salvador, Canada and Mexico – all but one from the CONCACAF region – as teams that lost their first six World Cup matches. (AP)
