World Cup: Ruthless England tear Panama apart; knockout ticket punched
Kane deflection gives him five in two
The pace of the game decreased quickly in the early minutes of the second half, but England added another in the 62nd minute. Ruben Loftus-Cheek drifted in from the right-hand side and hit a speculative effort on goal. Kane had his back to the ball, and it deflected in off the fortunate striker. His final contribution rounded off his hat-trick and epitomized the fortune of a man in form.
https://twitter.com/FOXSoccer/status/1010886583996674054
The record-breaking captain was timely replaced by Jamie Vardy, whilst Fabian Delph took the place of the thriving Jesse Lingard. Panama had a rare chance, just minutes later. Edgar Barcenas was involved as he played a ball behind the English backline, Michael Murillo came in from the right but was halted by Jordan Pickford.
The match was then relatively uneventful until the 78th minute, as Panama made history of their own accord. Felipe Baloy scored Panama’s first ever World Cup goal, albeit only a consolation. Roman Torres missed a huge chance minutes before, but Baloy succeeded where he failed. Ricardo Guardia Avila floated a lovely free-kick and Baloy slid the ball into the bottom right corner.
A celebration years in the making!
— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) June 24, 2018
Panama fans around the world got hyped after their first-ever FIFA World Cup goal. pic.twitter.com/eGlRYgwz5y
The win renders the showdown against Belgium even more significant, as England lead the group on the fair play rules. Panama has enjoyed their experience despite elimination, and will now look to beat Tunisia to create more history. They play Belgium on Thursday to end the group stage.
Next: Lukaku keeps scoring and Belgium keeps winning