EAST RUTHERFORD, N,.J. (AP) 鈥� Jude Bellingham, Harry Kane and England’s fervid fans made MetLife Stadium feel like Wembley. They hope for a repeat at next month’s final.
With supporters’ red-and-white Cross of St. George signs circling the field on an afternoon of sporadic rain, Bellingham and Kane scored early in the second half for a 2-0 win over Panama on Saturday. England earned first place in its group and a more favorable knockout phase bracket.
The Three Lions even wore the red jerseys made famous when England beat Germany for its only title in 1966, a sartorial similarity connecting north Jersey and that famous day in north London.
鈥淎mazing support. Crazy white wall behind the goal. Perfect weather to play football for us,” England coach Thomas Tuchel said.
England finished the Group L with two wins and a draw for seven points and play its round of 32 match Wednesday at Atlanta against Congo. The team that advances faces Mexico or Ecuador in Mexico City.
If the Three Lions had dropped to second, they would have encountered Portugal, with the winner meeting Spain, Austria or Algeria.
鈥淚 know some people have already made plans,鈥� Bellingham said, 鈥渟o it was nice they don鈥檛 have to cancel anything.鈥�
Fans filled the field walls with flags displaying club names that included Tottenham, Watford and Wolves plus some less-celebrated ones such as Crawley Town, Bristol Rovers and Faversham Town.
Panama held the England scoreless through a first half in which Kane had 10 touches, the fewest of any player. by taking the lead midway through the first half against Ghana in a game played simultaneously in Philadelphia.
鈥淎ll the lads were ready to go after halftime,鈥� Bellingham said. “We realized we had a couple of more gears to go.鈥�
Bellingham put the Three Lions ahead in the 62nd minute from Bukayo Saka’s corner kick. Held in bear hug by Jorge Guti茅rrez at the top of the 6-yard box, Bellingham stuck out his left leg and stabbed the ball past goalkeeper Orlando Mosquera for his third World Cup goal, his second this year.
Five minutes later, Bellingham crossed from the left flank and Kane outjumped Andr茅s Andrade to head in the ball for his 82nd international goal. Kane became with his 11th goal, one more than Gary Lineker.
Bellingham playing for Real Madrid on Feb. 1, didn’t return until March 22 and scored just two more goals during the rest of the La Liga season.
鈥淛ude looks fit, looks sharp,” Kane said. “It looks like he’s got the bit between his teeth to really go out there and prove to the world what type of player he is.鈥�
England reached the knockout rounds for the seventh time in eight World Cups.
鈥淭hey have great players. They are worth millions and millions,” Panama defender Jos茅 C贸rdoba said. “We鈥檙e talking about English football, which is much more developed than in our country and there鈥檚 a huge distance.鈥�
Panama went 0-3 for the second time and was outscored 4-0. It joined Iraq, Haiti, El Salvador, Canada and Mexico 鈥� all but one from the CONCACAF region 鈥� as teams that lost their first six World Cup matches. Jos茅 Fajardo put the ball in the net for the Los Canaleros in second-half stoppage time, but was called for offside.
鈥淲e can be proud 鈥� not of the results, as no one can be proud of a defeat, but all in all I think they gave their everything.” Panama coach Thomas Christiansen said. 鈥淔or the outside world, the image of Panama has been really good.鈥�
Goalkeeper Jordan Pickford played his 15th World Cup match, second among English players to Peter Shilton鈥檚 17.
England’s Jarell Quansah, usually a central defender, replaced right back Reece James, sidelined by a hamstring. Quansah twisted his right ankle during a 59th-minute challenge by Jos茅 Luis Rodr铆guez and was replaced in the 63rd. England is short on right backs after Trent Alexander-Arnold was not picked for the roster.
鈥淚t will be now a very tight race for Quansah, so I鈥檓 worried about these two,” Tuchel said.
In the glow of victory, supporters celebrated Bellingham by singing the Beatles’ 鈥淗ey Jude鈥� when he stood on the field for postgame interviews.
鈥淭his evening is special to take the energy and take in the atmosphere,鈥� Tuchel said. 鈥淔rom tomorrow we will think about round of 32.鈥�
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