Thomas Tuchel said England had done what was necessary after Jude Bellingham got them through a stubborn Panama test on Saturday, scoring and setting up Harry Kane in a 2-0 win to go into the World Cup round of 32 as winners of Group L.
England had to work for more than an hour in rainy New Jersey before Bellingham broke the deadlock before crossing for Kane to score his 11th World Cup goal, moving above Gary Lineker as England’s all-time top scorer at the tournament.
“We did what was necessary,” Tuchel told reporters. «It was what we expected: a tough match against a physical opponent. It is a difficult team to score against and we were the only team to create so many chances and score twice.»
«We were very aggressive, we had to be careful with counter-attacks. We deserved to win, but it was a tough job.»
England topped the group with seven points, ahead of Croatia with six, after another controlled but often difficult performance in which Panama threatened the break and forced England to remain alert before Bellingham’s second-half interventions decided 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 defending one-on-one,” he said.
«The tournament now starts again with the knockouts. Now we gather our strengths and energy and build on what we have – we have the team spirit, the fight and the belief. We will go one step further. The bigger the matches become, the bigger we will become.»
However, England are concerned about an injury to right-back Jarell Quansah before the next match in Atlanta.
“Classic ankle twist,” Tuchel said. «He’s had it before, a matter of days, painful, his leg is high, ice. It’s going to be a very tight race.»
Published on June 28, 2026
