Harry Kane scored a hat-trick as England thrashed Panama 6-1 in Sunday lunchtime's World Cup game.
Below are four talking points from the game in Nizhny Novgorod.
England master set-pieces
England scored twice from corners in the 2-1 win against Tunisia and again used set-pieces to great effect here. As well as two brilliant penalties from Kane, John Stones powered home a header for the opening goal and then rounded off an innovative free-kick by nodding home his second of the afternoon.
There has clearly been an emphasis placed on dead-ball situations, with the Three Lions having already employed various routines in their two games so far. It is yet another example of how well Gareth Southgate has coached this side.
Panama physical approach doesn’t work
It was clear from the opening exchanges that Panama were keen to be robust and physical in a bid to rough up an England side who clearly possess a great deal more quality across the pitch. Lingard was caught by an elbow early on and continued to be fouled throughout the first period, while the Canal Men were rightly punished for holding in the box before Kane fired home the resultant penalty.
Panama will be proud of their achievement of making it this far, but the gulf in class was vast here – and an attempt to bridge the gap with their physicality did not pay off either.
Kane moves clear of Ronaldo and Lukaku
It will not have escaped Kane’s attention that his three goals here saw him move clear of Cristiano Ronaldo and Romelu Lukaku in the race for the Golden Boot. The Tottenham Hotspur man has now found the net five times in Russia – a tally which was sufficient for Thomas Muller to scoop the prize in South Africa eight years ago.
Kane’s priority this summer will be helping his country to go as far as possible, but he certainly has an excellent chance of finishing as the tournament’s top scorer. After failing to make much of an impression at Euro 2016, the 24-year-old has made an excellent start to this World Cup.
England must go for win vs Belgium
There has been some talk that England and Belgium may both prefer to finish second in Group G, with top spot potentially bringing a quarter-final clash with either Brazil or Germany should either the Three Lions or the Red Devils make it that far. Both Southgate and Roberto Martinez will know where Brazil and Germany have finished in their own groups before kick-off on Thursday evening, but it would be a dangerous game for England to not give their all.
Indeed, although it would make sense for Southgate to rest some of his key players ahead of the knockout phase, the XI who begin the match must go for the win in a bid to keep confidence high and maintain England’s positive momentum.
