England secured their place in the round of 32 at the World Cup as Group L winners after second-half goals from Jude Bellingham and Harry Kane were enough to get past Panama.
A cagey first half saw Panama create a couple of opportunities for themselves as Thomas Tuchel's men were frustrated, but things changed after the break.
Once again, Bellingham, playing alongside Morgan Rogers in midfield, delivered when England needed it -- holding off his man to poke home from a corner past a flatfooted Orlando Mosquera. Minutes later, Kane became England's all-time leading goalscorer at World Cups, surpassing Gary Lineker, heading in from a Bellingham cross as a nation collectively exhaled.
There was concern just after the hour mark as Jarell Quansah came off with injury for Djed Spence, compounding issues at right-back with Reece James already ruled out before kick-off.
The result means the Three Lions will take on a third-placed side in the round of 32 -- likely Congo DR or Senegal, and avoiding a side of the bracket that currently contains Portugal and Spain.
Bellingham, Rogers start together but England underwhelm
One question asked ad nauseam before the start of this tournament was who would take prominence between Bellingham and Rogers in the No. 10 role -- and whether or not there was a place for the two to play together.
On Saturday, Tuchel opted to start both of them -- and it was Bellingham who rose highest, looking the brightest spark in what was otherwise a poor first half. He then scored and provided an assist in the space of five minutes in the second 45.
Rogers looked somewhat outshone and struggled to connect with Kane, unlike the Real Madrid man who was in sync with the captain for England's second -- setting their No. 9 up with a perfect ball into the middle on his left foot which was headed home to give the side some daylight.
The performance still fell short of what the German manager desires from his team, with long spells of lethargy. Panama sailed in behind on a couple of occasions, including in stoppage time as José Fajardo was played in, and while a tight offside ruled out his finish past Jordan Pickford, the 52-year-old was still seen shaking his head into his hands on the bench.
Injury concerns remain unassuaged
England were forced to turn to their bench for the first time on Saturday when Quansah -- deputising at right-back -- was taken off just after 60 minutes. James missed out having started both of the Croatia and Ghana matches, as Tuchel confirmed he had a "minor hamstring issue."
And Quansah, of Bayer Leverkusen, limped off with England's physios with what looked to be an ankle problem as Spence took his place. Tino Livramento had already been forced to withdraw prior to the tournament as Trevoh Chalobah earned a late call-up, and Ezri Konsa could step in and play that role if needed, but England's depth will find itself tested as the knockouts begin.
Declan Rice did not appear in what looked just to be a question of rest, while Bukayo Saka's minutes were also managed once -- coming off for Noni Madueke alongside Quansah's withdrawal
There are a maximum of five matches left should England reach the final, and Tuchel must carefully consider who will be able to physically manage, after a gruelling club season and potential knockouts ties of 120 minutes (or more...) to come.
Team lineups
Panama: Mosquera; Murillo, Gutiérrez (Davis 88'), Córdoba, Andrade; Escobar, Harvey (Quintero 88'), MartÃnez, Bárcenas (Diaz 71'); J. RodrÃguez (Londoño 71'); T. RodrÃguez (Fajardo 46')
Unused subtitutes: Mejia, Samudio, Blackman, Farina, Ramos, Davis, Miller, Carrasquilla, Diaz, Quintero, Godoy, Yanis, Waterman, Londoño.
England: Pickford; Quansah (Spence 63'), Guehi, Konsa, O'Reilly; Anderson (J. Henderson 84'), Bellingham (Eze 71'), Rogers; Saka (Madueke 63'), Rashford, Kane (Watkins 85').
Unused subtitutes: D. Henderson, Trafford, Stones, Chalobah, Burn, Rice, Mainoo, Gordon, Watkins, Toney.
Goals: Bellingham (62'), Kane (67')
Snapshot from the match
Key stats
Harry Kane has 11 World Cup goals -- the most by an English player at the tournament.
This is the 4th time that Karry Kane and Jude Bellingham score in the same game for England across all competitions -- but two have happened in this World Cup (vs. Panama, Croatia). Others were Euro 2024 vs. Slovakia, friendly vs. Scotland
Jude Bellingham is the 4th Englishman in the last 60 years to score and assist in a FIFA World Cup match (after Roger Hunt, Joe Cole and Raheem Sterling)
At 22y-363d, Bellingham is the youngest England player on record (since 1966) to achieve the feat
Panama: exits the tournament with 0 goals scored, becoming the first country since Honduras and Algeria in 2010 to finish with 0 goals in the group stage
England: advances as Group L winner; will play 3rd place team (TBD) on Wednesday in Atlanta
Kane: Four career World Cup goals vs Panama, only Oleg Salenko (RUS) vs Cameroon {5 in one game} and Kylian Mbappé (FRA) vs Argentina {5 in two games} have scored more FIFA World Cup goals vs a single opponent
Information from ESPN Global Research contributed to this report.
