Bellingham and Kane goals end 2026 World Cup ‘struggle’ to decide Three Lions ‘elimination’ team
Jude Bellingham and Harry Kane put England firmly back on course to win Group L’s 2026 World Cup by giving the Three Lions a 2-0 lead against a resilient Panama on Saturday.
Real Madrid’s Bellingham headed the ball past goalkeeper Orlando Mosquera from Bukayo Saka’s corner in the 62nd minute in New Jersey, giving relief to a team that had been at the bottom of the live table because Croatia were leading against Ghana in the first-leg 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
Harry Kane headed home Bellingham after five minutes, making the captain his country’s top scorer in the finals with his 11th World Cup goal, one ahead of Gary Lineker.
World Cup 2026: Bellingham ‘star’ for England vs Croatia
The former right-back in England, Gary Neville, said the importance of Bellingham in England should not be a problem.
“He’s a star and he’s our best player in the game by a mile,” added Neville, who said Thomas Tuchel’s side were “struggling badly” to break down their relegated rivals.
“The faces started showing fatigue in the forward players.
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
World Cup 2026: England confirm squad against 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 Marcus 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
2026 World Cup: Panama to face 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
Where to watch England vs Panama: TV channel, live streaming online
Kick-off on Saturday was at 22:00 BST (17:00 ET / 14:00 PT). In the UK, live TV broadcasts on ITV1.
The broadcast is available via the ITV website and the ITVX app, available on a range of devices for viewing on the go.
England vs Panama: Statistics for the 2026 World Cup
- Panama has lost each of their five World Cup matches, scoring a total of two goals. Only El Salvador has a worse 100% losing record in the competition’s history (6 games)
- They are 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.
- Jose Cordoba attempted 101 passes when Panama opened the World Cup against Ghana, and is the most outstanding player in a national game in the history of the tournament.
- 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).
- Christiansen has been in charge of Panama since July 2020, leading them to the knockout stages in 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).
