World Cup 2026: England beats Panama 2-0 as Bellingham stars, Kane sets all-time scoring record

England overcame a pedestrian first half to dispatch already eliminated Panama 2-0 at a rainy MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey. The result confirmed the Three Lions as winners of Group 12 and sent them into the round of 32 alongside Croatia, while Ghana progressed as one of the best third-placed teams despite a 2-1 defeat to the Croats.

Match flow

The opening 45 minutes were sterile. England dominated possession without bite, repeatedly running into Panama’s compact double defensive block. Marcus Rashford had a header narrowly miss, and Bukayo Saka fired from difficult angles, but goalkeeper Orlando Mosquera was rarely tested seriously. Panama’s one threatening moment came on a counter-attack when José Luis Rodríguez forced Jordan Pickford into a sharp save from a diagonal shot.

The pattern continued early in the second half. Rashford’s shot landed on the outside netting, and Rodríguez curled an effort just wide from outside the area in the 56th minute. A minute later Harry Kane appeared set to score from close range, only for Mosquera to produce a superb reflex block.

Then, in a five-minute window, England’s quality surfaced. In the 62nd minute, Saka delivered a corner from the left, and Bellingham stretched to poke the ball home with a deft touch at the near post. Five minutes later Bellingham turned provider, floating a cross from the left that Kane headed firmly into the net to make it 2-0.

Kane’s record

With that header, Kane became England’s all-time leading World Cup finals scorer, taking his tally to 11 goals. The Bayern Munich striker had previously been level with Gary Lineker on 10.

Group 12 panorama

While England were labouring past Panama, Croatia fought out a 2-1 win over Ghana in the group’s other match. Luka Sučić opened the scoring in the 31st minute, finished low after a Mateo Kovačić pass. Ghana equalised in the 73rd through Alexander Lucassen’s close-range strike. Nikola Vlasic (often referred to as Vlašić) headed home a cross from Luka Modrić in the 83rd minute to secure second place for Croatia. Ghana still advanced as a strong third-placed team.

England will next face the third-placed finisher from Group 9, 10 or 11 – likely Senegal, Austria or the Democratic Republic of the Congo – as Argentina, Brazil and Norway lie in the same half of the knockout bracket.