England scored twice in the second half to beat Panama 2-0 and claim the top spot of Group L in front of 80,663 fans at New York/New Jersey Stadium on Saturday.
At first, it seemed like it was going to be a repeat of England's last game: A disappointing 0-0 draw with Ghana. The Three Lions were once again dominating possession, but struggled to break down Panama's low block and create solid chances — just two of England's nine first-half shots tested Panama keeper Orlando Mosquera.
It took until the 62nd minute for England to finally break through, when Jude Bellingham connected on Bukayo Saka's cross.
"I felt in the second half we were all a bit sharper and a bit more clinical in what we were doing," Bellingham said after the match. "I think for me there is a responsibility to try and get the team going to another level and another level of intensity, more so than anything. I think all the lads were ready to go after halftime. We realized we had a couple more gears to go after a so-so start in the first half, and in the second half we showed that."
Michael Battista
Just five minutes later, Harry Kane doubled England's lead. It was a monumental goal, as he surpassed Gary Lineker to become England's all-time leading World Cup scorer with 11 goals.
"It's a proud one for sure," he told the BBC. "To get to 11 now is a proud feeling and, as always, hard to take in. I just want to enjoy this moment with the team and enjoy being top of the table — never take these moments for granted. But for me personally, another good milestone to hit and hopefully not the last one this tournament."
After scoring the opening goal, Bellingham was also involved in the second goal. He dribbled around Fidel Escobar to create space for a cross, which Kane headed home past a hopeless Mosquera.
"I think I've built a good relationship with Harry over the last four, five years, especially after Qatar," Bellingham said. "It's an honor to play with him. To me, he's the best England player of all time. He's the one who showed up more than any England player, and so he's quite easy to play with. He's at a level at the minute that's just incredible, and you don't doubt him at all in terms of whether he's involved or not; you know he's going to make a difference in the game like he did today."
It was Kane's third goal at this World Cup, putting him three goals behind Lionel Messi in the Golden Boot race. Even if Kane doesn't finish as the tournament's top scorer, the 32-year-old has etched his name in England's history books.
"I thought he already did it last game," said Jordan Henderson. "It seems with him, he's just continuously smashing records everywhere he goes and scores so many goals; he's been an incredible player so far for England. He's still got a long way to go, but he deserves everything he gets. He's been an incredible player and an incredible teammate, and I'm delighted for him to be able to get that record."
Dan Burn shared similar comments about Kane, calling him a "an amazing footballer" as well as "a great captain and person."
"There's not enough words to describe Harry as a player and a person," Burn said. "He doesn't get a lot of touches on the ball during games, but he's always there to finish off chances, and we rely on him a lot."
England will face DR Congo in the Round of 32 in Atlanta on Wednesday afternoon. DR Congo, which tied Portugal in its first game, beat Uzbekistan in its Group K finale to finish as the best third-place team with four points and a +1 goal difference.
To prepare for the knockout stages, Henderson, who is playing in his fourth World Cup, pointed out that England has to focus on "staying calm in the moment."
"It's been a decent start in the group; winning the group is not easy," he said. "So first and foremost, I think the lads deserve a bit of credit for that, but now it's starting the business end. It'll only get tougher from here, really, so we just gotta stay confident, follow what the manager wants us to do in the game plan, and so if we can execute that, then we'll have a good chance of winning games."
