Thomas Tuchel’s England topped Group L on the way to the Round of 32. | Photo Credit: REUTERS

Thomas Tuchel said England ⁠had done what was needed after Jude Bellingham dragged them through a stubborn Panama test on Saturday, scoring and setting up Harry Kane in ‌a 2-0 win that sent it into the World Cup round of 32 as Group L winner.

England ‌was made to work for more than an hour in ‌rainy ⁠New Jersey before Bellingham broke the deadlock before ⁠crossing for Kane to head in his 11th World Cup goal, lifting him above Gary Lineker as England’s all-time leading scorer at the tournament.

“We did what ​was needed,” Tuchel told ‌reporters. “It was what we expected: a tough match against a physical opponent. They are a difficult team to score against and we were the only team to create this amount ‌of chances and score twice.

“We were very aggressive, we ​had to be careful with counter-attacks. We deserved to win, but it was a hard piece of ⁠work.”

England topped the group with seven points, ahead of Croatia on six, after another controlled but often laboured display in which Panama ‌threatened on the break and forced England to remain alert before Bellingham’s second-half interventions settled the match.

Tuchel said England’s resilience and team spirit would be key factors going forward in the tournament.

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“There’s more to build on, you have to get so many details right and it’s an aggressive approach to defend ‌the one-on-ones,” he said.

“The tournament starts again now in the knockouts. Now ​we collect our strengths and energy and build on what we have — we have the team spirit, fighting ⁠and belief. We will step up. The bigger the games get, ⁠the bigger we will get.”

England, however, has an injury concern over right back Jarell Quansah before its next ‌match in Atlanta.

“Classic ankle twist,” Tuchel said. “He’s had it before, a matter of days, painful, he has his leg up ​high, ice. It will be a very tight race.” 

Published on Jun 28, 2026