2026 World Cup report, result, goals as Bellingham and Kane score to give Three Lions top spot

Jude Bellingham’s strike and Harry Kane’s header saw England beat a stubborn Panamanian to win Group L at the 2026 World Cup.

ENGLAND WATCH THE TEST! 🔓

Jude Bellingham takes the corner… The Three Lions top the group as they stand pic.twitter.com/WVtY6x5Qbb

— ITV Football (@itvfootball) June 27, 2026

The Three Lions struggled in the first half against rivals New Jersey, defending shakily at times and finishing second in the table after Croatia took the lead against Ghana in the same group decider.

HARRY KANE DOES TWO! 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

Bellingham turns provider and suddenly England is sailing

Kane becomes England’s top scorer in the World Cup finals pic.twitter.com/cWdElDoCN2

— ITV Football (@itvfootball) June 27, 2026

Thomas Tuchel’s side made the breakthrough in the 62nd minute courtesy of Bellingham’s finish inside the box from Bukayo Saka’s corner, while Kane doubled their lead with a powerful header that crossed the Real Madrid livewire five minutes later.

Kane’s goal took the England captain to 11 goals in the final, overtaking Gary Lineker.

England vs Panama: Three Lions ‘lack quality’ at World Cup

Panama lost the first two group games 1-0 and threatened to take their first point against an England team that was held by Ghana four days ago and may now face DR Congo or Senegal.

Former England striker Ian Wright has mentioned that Tuchel’s side are talking to his players during the break to turn their fortunes around in their 4-2 win over Croatia, suggesting that the German will need to inspire his players again in this tournament.

“Jude Bellingham was doing a lot of work getting the ball into the forwards,” Wright told ITV, adding that two of the newcomers to England’s starting line-up, Bukayo Saka and Marcus Rashford, provided “good width”.

“But the lack of quality when you enter [dangerous areas] poor,” added Wright, warning that England had made it “too easy” for Panama’s defenders.

World Cup 2026: Team England vs Panama

England made five changes during their 0-0 draw with Ghana last Tuesday.

Reece James is expected to miss two games due to injury while Djed Spence, Noni Madueke, Declan Rice and Anthony Gordon have moved to the bench.

In came Nico O’Reilly, Jarell Quansah, Morgan Rogers, Saka and Rashford.

England starting XI: Jordan Pickford, Ezri Konsa, Nico O’Reilly, Marc Guehi, Jarell Quansah, Elliot Anderson, Jude Bellingham, Morgan Rogers, Bukayo Saka, Harry Kane, Marcus Rashford

England substitute: Dean Henderson, James Trafford, John Stones, Trevoh Chalobah, Dan Burn, Djed Spence, Declan Rice, Jordan Henderson, Kobbie Mainoo, Eberechi Eze, Anthony Gordon, Ollie Watkins, Noni Madueke, Ivan Toney

World Cup 2026: Team Panama vs England

Panama made three changes from their 1-0 loss to Croatia four days ago.

Fidel Escobar, Jorge Gutierrez and Tomas Rodriguez came in for Jiovany Ramos, Cesar Blackman and Jose Fajardo.

Panama XI: Orlando Mosquera, Jose Cordoba, Fidel Escobar, Carlos Harvey, Andres Andrade, Amir Murillo, Jorge Gutierrez, Cristian Martinez, Jose Luis Rodriguez, Edgar Yoel Barcenas, Tomas Rodriguez

Panama Exchange: Luis Mejia, Cesar Samudio, Cesar Blackman, Edgardo Farina, Jiovany Ramos, Eric Davis, Roderick Miller, Adalberto Carrasquilla, Ismael Diaz, Alberto Quintero, Anibal Godoy, Cesar Yanis, Jose Fajardo, Cecilio Waterman, Azarias Londono

England vs Panama: Statistics for the 2026 World Cup

• Panama has lost each of its six World Cup matches, scoring two goals in total. Only El Salvador can match that 100% losing record in the competition’s history (6 games)
• They were playing in the second World Cup and for the first time since 2018 in Russia, where they finished last in a group that included Belgium and England, who entered the play-off of this program, and Tunisia.
• Along with eliminated Curacao, Panama was one of two teams to avoid defeat during the CONCACAF qualifiers among teams that played at least 10 games, while recording the highest total (82)
• Only three players have recorded more assists in CONCACAF success than Amir Murillo (3), who was also second in expected assists (2.6).
• Manager Thomas Christiansen has been in charge of Panama since July 2020, leading them to the knockout stages in two of his three Gold Cup campaigns (runners-up in 2023, quarter-finals in 2025).
• Jordan Pickford made his 15th World Cup appearance for England. Only Peter Shilton (17) has more in the men’s national team competition
• Jude Bellingham made his 50th England cap on the second day of the match, becoming the youngest player to reach the milestone for the Three Liones at the age of 22 years and 359 days.
• England is playing in the 17th World Cup in which it has participated for the eighth time in a row, which is the longest uninterrupted run in its history.
• Since winning their only World Cup title in 1966, England have advanced to the quarterfinals twice: finishing fourth in 1990 and in 2018.
• A newcomer to the World Cup, Tuchel is the third non-Englishman to lead a country in the final after Sven-Goran Eriksson (2002, 2006) and Fabio Capello (2010).