(Updated at 09:00)
The worst fears of Panama's coach, Hernán Darío Gómez, came true when England defeated the Central American team 6-1 this Sunday, with three goals from Harry Kane securing their spot and Belgium's in the round of 16 of the World Cup.
Panama is playing in their first World Cup and Bolillo Gómez had said several times that, on a good day, his team could complicate things for their opponents, but it wouldn't be surprising if they were heavily defeated.
This Sunday, in Nizhni Nóvgorod, the Panamanians looked at times like an amateur team, with great inaccuracies in a couple of favorable situations, losing their marks in aerial balls, delaying passes, and committing flagrant fouls in front of the referee.
Defender John Stones opened the scoring with a header in the 8th minute and scored again in the 40th minute; Harry Kane surpassed Cristiano Ronaldo at the top of the goal scorers' table with his third, fourth, and fifth goals, including two penalties in the 20th and 45th minutes and another fortunate one in the 62nd minute. Jesse Lingard scored the remaining goal with a delightful shot from outside the area in the 36th minute.
Felipe Baloy, who had just entered the field, scored the Panamanian honor goal in the 78th minute.
Despite the lopsided victory, England showed defensive weaknesses, especially in the early minutes, which Panama failed to take advantage of.
The Belgians, who had defeated the North Africans 5-2 on Saturday, have 6 points, just like England. Both teams have the same goal difference (+6) and the same number of goals scored (8) and conceded (2), while Tunisia and Panama are without points after losing their first two matches.
After defeating Panama and Tunisia, the English and Belgians will face each other on Thursday to determine which team finishes first in Group G. The winner of that group will face the second-place team from Group H in the round of 16, while the second-place team will play against the first-place team from Group H.
Group H consists of Colombia, Senegal, Poland, and Japan. (D)