Bellingham and Kane lead England past Panama, secure Group L top spot

Jude Bellingham and Harry Kane turned a rainy New Jersey grind into a 2-0 win for England, but the performance also exposed how much work remains before the knockout rounds. England secured first place in Group L on June 27, 2026, at the New York/New Jersey Stadium, yet Panama held firm for long stretches before a five-minute burst settled it.

Bellingham opened the scoring in the 62nd minute and then supplied Kane for the second in the 67th, a finish that lifted Kane to 11 World Cup goals and moved him past Gary Lineker as England’s all-time leading scorer in the tournament. FIFA named Bellingham Player of the Match after the midfielder repeatedly found the space Panama had tried to close off through most of the afternoon.

Panama survived a first half in which England created little clear separation, and José Luis Rodríguez forced at least one dangerous moment before José Fajardo had a late goal ruled out for offside. Thomas Christiansen’s side had already been eliminated before kickoff, and Panama finished the tournament without a point or a goal, but the team still made England work harder than the 6-1 rout the English had produced against Panama in Russia in 2018.

Thomas Tuchel made five changes after the draw with Ghana, including the first North America starts for Morgan Rogers, Marcus Rashford and Bukayo Saka. Reece James was unavailable because of injury, while Saka, Declan Rice and Elliot Anderson were all fit enough to play. Jordan Pickford’s appearance also carried historical weight: it was his 15th World Cup outing, moving him into second place among England’s all-time tournament appearance makers, behind only Peter Shilton’s 17.

England now moves into the round of 32 in Atlanta on Wednesday, July 1, against one of the best third-place teams from Groups E, H, I, J or K.