Oh dear, another day, another World Cup match and another England performance that rarely inspired that now needs analysing. Right from the very first seconds the warnings were there as Tomas Rodrigues speedily gets through the England defence to fire a shot at goal. Luckily for Jordan Pickford the shot was straight at him and he gathered easily. But the scare was there and we all knew at that moment that it would be another long night.

The rain was pelting down in the stadium, lovely English conditions, well, not this week, but you know what I mean. England, in red shirts and navy shorts for this game, started to get going and on five minutes a good move between Jude Bellingham and Marcus Rashford was thwarted by Panama giving away a corner. Two minutes later and Rashford cuts inside and his shot is well saved by Orlando Mosquera in the Panama goal, the first of several good saves from the talented keeper.

At our corners, and there were several of them, there was a great deal of bumping and holding as is the usual these days. When are the refs going to be brave enough to give a few more penalties for blatant holding as the crosses come in? Having said that, without Declan Rice our corners were not very good, in this opening half especially. Rashford was in a lively mood and most of the England threat, such as it was, came through him. But the speed of the counter attack from Panama meant that the England defenders had to be on their toes throughout. From one of our corners, the ball was cleared to Edgar Yoel Barcenas and only a foul by Ezri Konsa stopped him. It was very obvious from the early play that the first goal was going to be crucial in this match.

In a very open game there were chances at both ends for the next ten minutes. Bukayo Saka cut inside and shot but the keeper easily saved at the near post. Then Bellingham was fouled thirty yards from goal and from the free-kick England won yet another corner that was wasted. The England passes in the final third are still not good enough and I lost count of the number of times our passes went to a Panama player. On 21 minutes Pickford had to dive to punch away a dangerous cross and then at the other end a weak clearance from the keeper found Bellingham who tried a shot at the empty goal from 35 yards. It was a good idea but unfortunately not well executed.

A water break gave Thomas Tuchel the chance to have a few words, but immediately after the restart Jose Rodrigues forced a good save out of Pickford again as England are slow to restart. Play over the next period was very ragged. Saka is put through but is easily robbed of the ball and then two poor corners by Rashford are easily dealt with. On 35 minutes Elliot Anderson shot straight at the keeper although it was on target. Anderson and Bellingham were both working hard in the midfield but several of the England players seemed to be going through the motions without inspiring.

It was a very open game still, and half-chances came and went, with the closest effort falling to Rashford, but he headed over from close range to miss a good chance. England are very predictable in their play and to be honest, easy to defend against. There was a missing spark about the team in this first-half and some of the camera shots of the England fans showed exactly what they were thinking. A late free-kick by Rashford after Kane was fouled, curls wide of the post and that was the end of a poor half from an England perspective. We needed a spark and also more of a desire to win the match after the interval.

The second-half begins with bodies all over the floor at both ends, screaming as they fall. Dear oh dear, what is the matter with these people, as after their so called 'fatal' injuries are treated they are up and running around like spring chickens! It has been a feature of this World Cup so far and it drives this reporter mad.

Early in the half Rashford is easily dispossessed in good positions twice, and then a goal seemed certain when Kane was trying to bundle home a loose ball following a cross. In the end the defenders cleared. Before the hour, there were more bodies on the floor, Rashford shot wide after a good break, and then Jose Rodrigues saw another effort curl just wide. England were a bit shambolic at this stage and if they were not careful they might lose this match. Then, on 57 minutes Kane's shot is again brilliantly saved by the goalkeeper as England try desperately for a breakthrough. Two minutes later Bellingham gets round the back but can't quite pull the ball back quick enough. Djed Spence is about to come on but before he does England finally get a goal. This time Saka takes the corner low and the cross finds Bellingham meeting it on the volley to beat a defender to it and to finally beat the goalkeeper. My thoughts at that time were, at last, now perhaps we can settle down a little. Noni Madueka comes on for Saka and Spence for Jarell Quansah.

The mandatory close up of David Beckham in the crowd is shown on TV, nothing to do with the football, but maybe, just maybe it did help England score again in the 67th minute. Bellingham again breaks down the left and this time his cross is perfect for Harry Kane to head home to make it 2-0. A record breaking World Cup goal for Kane, who now takes Gary Lineker's record by scoring 11 times in World Cup finals.

Another hydration break, and once more England are slow to get going after the restart as first Ismael Diaz heads over from a good chance and then England fail to clear a corner properly and the ball pings about the penalty area before a final Panama shot flies over the bar. More subs for England as Spence miscues a centre that goes behind the goal, with Anderson and Kane taken off. Rashford mishits a shot from Spence's corner, then right on 90 minutes Jose Fajardo gets through and scores, only for the obvious offside decision being confirmed by the linesman. England were all over the place in those last few minutes and Fajardo might have scored again with another effort. The game ended when sub Eberechi Eze sees his shot deflected wide.

All in all it had been a poor performance from England and they will have to improve all round the team in the future games if they have any hope of taking the big prize. Too many errors, too much losing possession, too much poor control and too disjointed at times. But then again we did win 2-0 so that may be a good sign.
  

Source Notes