England 6 Panama 1: Harry Kane hat-trick secures qualification - reactions
Gareth Southgate’s Three Lions will face Belgium to decide the group G winner
England thrashed Panama 6-1 yesterday to secure their place in the last 16 and set up a mouthwatering showdown on Thursday with Belgium who, like the Three Lions, have also won their first two matches in group G.
England’s hero against Panama was Harry Kane, who joined Geoff Hurst (1966) and Gary Lineker (1986) as the only Englishmen to score a hat-trick in a World Cup. A brace from John Stones and a superb long-range effort from Jesse Lingard were the source of England’s other goals.
True, England shouldn’t get too carried away after beating a poor Central American side, but at the same time the last minnows they met in an international tournament, Iceland in the 2016 Euros, ended up beating them.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
It’s a sign of how much England have progressed under Gareth Southgate that they ruthlessly despatched a weak opponent, although Panama did have the consolation of scoring their first World Cup goal when 37-year-old Felipe Baloy netted late on.
It’s only the third time in a World Cup that England have won their opening two group-stage games (1982 and 2006) and Kane is now leading the race for the Golden Boot, his five goals being one more than Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo and Romelu Lukaku of Belgium.
Reactions to England’s victory
Harry Kane on the possibility of winning the Golden Boot: “There’s going to be a lot of talk about it but there’s a long way to go. We’ve got some of the best players in the world scoring goals, doing well. For me, it’s about the wins. And we’ve got another big game on Thursday to try and finish top. Hopefully I can score more goals and help my team.”
Kane on the win against Panama: “I’m extremely proud. We’re proud of each other, the way we played, the discipline, the hard work. And we had fun out there as well, which is important. It could have been a tough game. We started well, we’ve been working hard on set-pieces and they came together as well. We’ve got to enjoy this. It’s not every year that we go through after two games.”
Kane on Panama’s physical approach: “We knew it would be an aggressive game, they’d do everything they could to stop us. I thought the discipline was really good from us, we didn’t get involved in anything silly, we made sure the ref was aware of holding and pulling. And we got what we deserved. I’m very proud of the lads for that.”
Gareth Southgate on the result: “I didn’t particularly like the performance. Well, I didn’t like the start, and I didn’t like the goal at the end, but I guess the bits in the middle were pretty good. I think we were a little bit anxious at the beginning… but it’s really rewarding to see how well they’re playing, and how much they’re enjoying their football.”
Southgate on whether he will change his team for Belgium: "We want to keep momentum, so we’ll have to have a think about the team we want to put out. There’s an opportunity as well that players that need a match, but also we want to keep winning football matches. It’s a nice decision to have.”
Southgate on Harry Kane: “We wouldn’t swap him for anyone at the tournament in terms of No.9s. We know that when he gets opportunities he’s going to bury them, you sit there very confident in his ability to take chances.”
Ashley Young on the team spirit: “The togetherness I’ve seen is incredible. Off the pitch everybody mixes with each other. Everybody wants the ball, nobody shies away from the ball. We’ve got to keep on doing that, keep showing our confidence and keep playing the way we have. We’ve just got to keep our feet on the ground and keep working hard in training. This could be the start of something good.”
Jesse Lingard on whether England can go all the way: “With the squad we’ve got and the confidence flowing I don’t see why [we can’t lift the cup], but at the moment we’re still learning and we’ll take it game by game. There’s a lot of positivity, so we’ll take it into the Belgium game.”
John Stones on scoring his first (and second) goal for England: “I think to score my first goals for England, that was something special, especially at the World Cup. Not something I thought I’d do at the start of the day... I remember four years ago, knowing how hard the lads had worked. This time round, playing, we wanted to do the country proud and get through to the next step and see where we can go.”
Rio Ferdinand on Panama: “This Panama team wouldn’t sit well in our non-league in England, they’re that bad.”
Gary Lineker on the goal-fest: “This is getting silly. Last time England scored 4 or more goals in a World Cup was the 1966 WC final.”
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
'People shouldn't have to share the road with impaired drivers'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Justin Klawans, The Week US Published
-
Is academic freedom in peril?
Today's Big Question Faculty punishments are on the rise
By Joel Mathis, The Week US Published
-
Quincy Jones, music icon, is dead at 91
Speed Read The legendary producer is perhaps best known as the architect behind Michael Jackson's 'Thriller'
By Peter Weber, The Week US Published
-
The wit and wisdom of Sven-Göran Eriksson
In Depth The first foreign coach to manage England on football, life and death
By The Week Staff Published
-
Gareth Southgate's England: a bittersweet swan song
In Depth History books will favour football manager who transformed culture of football in England
By The Week UK Published
-
Can England's Euros team hold their nerve?
Today's Big Question Three Lions' 'lopsided' opening win over Serbia raises more questions than it answers
By The Week UK Published
-
The England kit: a furore over the flag
Why everyone's talking about Nike's redesign of the St George's Cross on the collar of the English national team's shirt has caused controversy
By The Week UK Published
-
Lionesses will have regrets but their legacy can be ‘incredible’
feature England stars return home after heartbreaking Women’s World Cup final loss to Spain
By Mike Starling Published
-
How English women’s football could become a billion pound industry
feature Building on the success of the Lionesses won’t be easy but it is eminently possible
By The Week Staff Published
-
Lionesses dig deep after Lauren James’s ‘Beckham-esque’ red card
feature England reach the Women’s World Cup quarter-finals after a 4-2 win on penalties against Nigeria
By Mike Starling Published
-
Curse of the Lionesses: what’s causing spate of England women’s football injuries?
Under the Radar Several key players are out of the World Cup, raising concerns about hectic schedules, sub-par pitches and sexism
By Harriet Marsden Published