England have qualified for the knockout stages of the World Cup as group winners after beating Panama in their final group match.
Thomas Tuchel made five changes to his team tonight with Bukayo Saka and Marcus Rashford starting out wide. With Declan Rice struggling with a knock, Jude Bellingham dropped into a deeper midfield role with Morgan Rogers starting ahead of him in the no10 role.
Reece James is set to miss the next two games, leaving a problem to solve at right-back with Jarell Quansah given the nod tonight.
After another goalless first-half, Jude Bellingham was the inspiration behind a much-improved second-half performance.
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While England were expected to take care of business tonight, Tuchel may have found the answers to some big questions.
ENGLAND PLAYER RATINGS OUT OF 10
Jordan Pickford – 6
Little to do but coped with what Panama threw at him confidently. Frustrated with the amount of chances his defence let through.
Jarell Quansah – 4
Called into replace the injured Reece James, the Bayer Leverkusen defender did not look at home on the right of defence. Playing more like a right-sided centre-half than a full-back, there was no threat going forward. A couple of early moments of hesitation set the tone – if tonight was an audition to replace the Chelsea captain, it probably wasn’t a success. Went off injured.
Ezri Konsa – 4
Gifted Panama a half-chance in the opening seconds of the game. Like Quansah, looked uncomfortable dealing with the opposition’s threat on the counter attack and was slow to regain his composure after that early error.
Marc Guehi – 5
Kept his place in the side after missing the opener against Croatia and another clean sheet should keep him there after a mostly assured display.
Nico O’Reilly – 6
No complaints at the back and was a threat again in attacking positions.
Elliot Anderson – 4
Looked a little exposed on his own in that single pivot role and was easily bypassed by Panama in those transitional moments in the first-half. Missed Declan Rice next to him.
Jude Bellingham – 8
England’s best player by a mile. Got through plenty of work in that deeper midfield role and popped up with a smart finish to ease the pressure with that opening goal. Created Kane’s second with a wonderful cross. Has been England’s standout player three games in a row.
Bukayo Saka – 5
Involved in plenty in the first period and managed more shots on goal than Noni Madueke did in his 84 minutes on the pitch against Ghana. Showed no signs of that Achilles injury but didn’t do quite enough with the ball.
Morgan Rogers – 5
England lacked real innovation and while it certainly wasn’t all down to him, the man starting as your no10 has to accept some responsibility.
Marcus Rashford – 5
A similar story to Saka. Looked bright early on but struggled to find those real moments of class he is capable of. Even more wasteful in the second period.
Harry Kane – 6
A very quiet first-half where he managed just one touch in the box but got the goal he needed to become his country’s all-time World Cup top scorer.