Its only Panama a phrase repeated often in bars and living rooms across the World after England registered a 6-1 win against Panama in their second group game at the World Cup in Russia.
I think we have to accept that there is some merit in that statement, yes the game was largely a mismatch with the English technically and tactically superior but you can only beat what is in front of you. In tournaments gone by this is precisely the kind of game in which England would have struggled with the weight of expectation firmly against them.
Instead of this however, we saw a highly professional performance from the English not only in scoring six goals but also in the way that they managed and dominated the game from start to finish. From a tactical viewpoint the England coach Gareth Southgate came out of this match with a lot of credit, England were brave with the ball looking to attack vertically through clever passing combinations and intelligent positioning from their players.
This intelligent tactical play combined with the fantastic execution and planning of set pieces from the English will make them feared opponents in the round of 16 whether they win the group over Belgium or not.
Team News
Only one change of note fro England from their opening group match against Tunisia with Ruben Loftus-Cheek coming in to one of the central midfield slots to replace Dele Alli. The Tottenham man had impressed in the first match against Tunisia before suffering a knock while Loftus-Cheek came on for a late cameo and impressed.
Other than that the team is taking on a settled look for Southgate with the only question remaining being whether Raheem Sterling would retain his place partnering Harry Kane in attack or whether the Manchester United forward Marcus Rashford would come in. In the end Southgate chose to keep faith with Sterling.
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