Thomas Tuchel has warned the rest of the World Cup field that England ‘will step up’ after they eased past Panama to win their group.
And the upbeat German vowed: ‘The bigger the games get, the bigger we’ll get’ following a Jude Bellingham-inspired 2-0 victory in New Jersey that sealed top spot in Group L.
‘Now we collect our strengths and collect our energy,’ a clearly happy Tuchel said after Bellingham had broken the deadlock in the second half before teeing up Harry Kane to become his country’s all-time leading scorer. ‘We build on what we have,’ he added. ‘The team spirit, fighting spirit, I believe, and we will step up.’
Bellingham craftily swiped home a Bukayo Saka corner in the 62nd minute to break stubborn resistance from the Central Americans, before providing a precise cross for Kane.
‘Good, good performance again (from Bellingham),’ Tuchel said. ‘We’re happy that he’s in this kind of shape, but everyone did what they needed to do. Jude was a big part of it.’
Jude Bellingham takes the plaudits after his inventive opener in the 2-0 win over Panama
The head coach also suggested more was to come from Harry Kane, whose 11 goals take him clear of Gary Lineker.
‘Good, good, good,’ he said of the record, ‘and it’s not the end. It isn’t the end.’
Bellingham, who was named man-of-the-match for a second game in succession, was pleased with an initial mission accomplished. ‘First job achieved,’ he also told ITV. ‘We came here to do it in sections and we got through the pre-games well and we achieved the first job – we got through the group and won it.
‘We know what level we are at and what we want to achieve and we did in the second half. Every day we have to try to improve and it’s up to us to do that.’
Bellingham, again serenaded by England’s huge travelling army, was also quick to praise captain Kane. ‘He continues to raise his level and it is incredible,’ he said. ‘It’s everything he deserves. You see the effort he puts in as captain and how he leads us. His quality speaks for itself, he is the best.’
England struggled to break down a resilient Panama, who had gone down by a single goal to Croatia and Ghana. The victory means they have won two and drawn one of their group matches and will play in the round of 32 in Atlanta on Wednesday.
Harry Kane is now England’s top scorer at World Cups, with 11 – one more than Gary Lineker
‘We were the only team to create this amount of chances and score twice against them (Panama),’ Tuchel added. ‘We were very aggressive. We had to be very careful with the counter attacks, because they’re strong. We did well overall and deserved to win, but it was hard piece of work.’
The Three Lions’ full-back curse continued, however, with Jarell Quansah – starting following injuries to Tino Livramento and Reece James – hobbling off on the hour.
In better news, Saka started and showed no ill effects of an Achilles issue, playing 63 minutes, while Declan Rice was given the afternoon off.
‘Bukayo’s not a problem,’ he said. ‘Declan, had the chance to take him completely off the match, to not do not concede a second yellow, which helps us a lot. Jarell, I don’t know, had to go off injured, so we need to see, but three days in the next, and then next match in four days is not a problem. We love that, and we’re good at that.’
