EAST RUTHERFORD, New Jersey, June 28 — Jude Bellingham dragged England out of a rainy New Jersey grind on Saturday, scoring one goal and creating another for Harry Kane as Thomas Tuchel's side beat Panama 2-0 to top Group L and avoid a nervy route through the World Cup knockout phase.
England will play DR Congo, who beat Uzbekistan 3-1, in the Round of 32 after finishing first with seven points. Croatia have six points, following their 2-1 win against Ghana, who ended on four. Panama lost all three matches and finished bottom.
After a flat first half and a frustrating hour in which England dominated possession without cutting Panama open, Bellingham finally forced the breakthrough in the 62nd minute.
Bukayo Saka's corner from the left dropped into a crowded box, where Bellingham, despite being held by a defender, wrestled enough space to stab a left-footed finish past goalkeeper Orlando Mosquera.
Five minutes later, Bellingham took charge again on the left and clipped in a cross for Kane, who rose above his marker to head home. It was Kane's 11th World Cup goal for England, moving him past Gary Lineker's mark of 10 and making him the country's all-time leading scorer at World Cups.
The goal transformed the mood at the New York New Jersey Stadium, where anxious England supporters who had spent much of the afternoon biting their nails were soon singing along to Bon Jovi during the hydration break.
"A solid performance again, against a side with fast, tricky players," said Kane.
"They had little moments but overall we controlled it pretty well. First half maybe a little bit sloppy in the final third, got better in the second half. Would have liked to see out the game a little bit easier.
"Overall just a good win. Another proud one (record) to reach, let's hope it's not the last instalment."
Tuchel had made five changes from the side held 0-0 by Ghana. Reece James missed out with a hamstring problem, with Jarell Quansah starting at right back, while Nico O'Reilly returned at left back.
Declan Rice was rested and Morgan Rogers came into a more attack-minded midfield. Saka and Marcus Rashford replaced Noni Madueke and Anthony Gordon.
In PHILADELPHIA, Nikola Vlasic headed in Luka Modric’s 83rd-minute corner to lift Croatia to a 2-1 victory over Ghana.
Vlasic’s perfect finish off the inside of the left post came 10 minutes after Derrick Luckassen had pulled Ghana level on his international debut, with half the time in between spent on a VAR review determining whether he was onside.
Petar Susic scored early for Croatia, who needed only a draw to reach the last 32. Claiming the second-place spot set up the 2022 third-place finishers with a game against Portugal on Thursday in Toronto.
“We’re not going to be euphoric about this,” Croatian manager Zlatko Dalic told reporters.
The 40-year-old Modric played his first full 90 minutes of the tournament and had arguably his best match while becoming the oldest player in World Cup history to contribute an assist.
“Luka was truly fantastic,” Dalic said. “Just as he was throughout his career, he was like that tonight. And I’m very glad that this is how it turned out tonight.”
