FIFA World Cup 2018: England get rid of past baggage with six-goal thumping of Panama

It was the moment Godot finally arrived for England at the World Cup. On Sunday, against World Cup newbies Panama, the Three Lions finally ran riot scoring a mind-boggling 6 goals and conceding just 1. 

It could’ve been far more if the Englishmen had kept up the pace in the second-half, but they appeared to conserve their energies for the showdown with the Belgium for the battle to top the group.

As things stand, Belgium and England have the same number of points, goal difference and goals scored so it could actually come down to who’s received less yellow or red cards, or even the draw of lots! (More on that conundrum here)

The World Cup newbies are playing their first finals, and Felipe Baloy will go down in history as the first Panamanian to score in a World Cup final. However, before he could do that England had put six past their keeper, the highest number of goals scored by a team in a single match at this World Cup so far.

In previous World Cups, England have struggled against the likes of Trinidad and Tobago, Algeria, US, Slovenia and Costa Rica, so it’s fair to say that most English fans weren’t expecting a tennis score.

There was a Shakespearean Comedy of Errors touch to the proceedings summed up by Harry Kane’s third goal and England’s sixth, which bounced off his instep from a Loftus-Creek shot which Kane had no idea about. But before that England’s play, if not sublime, was certainly utilitarian.

The scoring was started by John Stones, who has been backed by both Pep Guardiola at Manchester City and Gareth Southgate for England and the English centre-back certainly showed why he was picked with a solid display in the back and a brace up front.

He started off proceedings from a Kieran Trippier corner who reminded Twitterati of David Beckham with his precise deliveries. The next goal came after Lingard was brought down in the box and Harry Kane chose to emulate Ronaldo rather than Messi as he put it into the top corner.

The third was a Jesse Lingard cracker. The social media enthusiast, who often gets stick for his antics, showed that his host of missed chances against Tunisia was a one-off as he curled a sublime ball into the top corner, after exchanging passes with Raheem Sterling.

England, thanks to Trippier have been looking really dominating in set-pieces. The fourth came from Stones in a corner who headed home the rebound from Sterling’s shot.

The fifth was another Harry Kane penalty, Kane unknowingly deflected the ball into the net from a Loftus-Creek shot to become the first Englishman to score a hat-trick at the World Cup since Gary Lineker in 1990.

For those who care about the numbers, this was the first time England scored six goals in a World Cup game. The last time they scored four was in 1966 at the final in Wembley when the lifted the World Cup against West Germany.

Kane is also now the leading goal-scorer of the tournament having got 5, a single goal ahead or Messrs Ronaldo and Lukaku.

In the process, he became the third Englishman to score a hat-trick at the World Cup other than Gary Lineker and the legendary Geoff Hurst.

To sum up, this is only the third time in history that England have won their opening two games in a major tournament out of 24 attempts, emulating 1982 and 2006. Of course, it would be imperative for English fans to err on the side of caution.

Panama's defending was a cross between a pub-side hack and the annual day football match between parents and teachers and their under-handed WWE-resembling tactics couldn’t pass muster on the big stage. They might have worked during the CONCAF qualifiers, but it was grossly out of place here.  

Time and again they were called up for fouls and paid the price.

As Panama coach Hernan Gomez put it rather crassly but accurately: “We are virgins, we have been born before the due date, we are debutants. We have to celebrate what we have done here.”

Before the match, Gareth Southgate had pointed out that the baggage of the past didn’t matter to these boys.  

Southgate said: "Past history is not important for this team. They have an opportunity to create their own history. They should be excited about that. They're a young team who will get better and better. I enjoy working with all of them and I'm intrigued to find out how far they can go and how well they can play."

Southgate, his jogging route aside, certainly looks like a man with a plan not bogged down the failures of the past. There seems, for the first time in aeons, a clear tactic of how to play, of players knowing what their role is. Every player appears to know what to do, particularly during set pieces.

Given the performance so far, and camaraderie that appears to exist between the squad, it wouldn’t be foolish to suggest that perhaps this England squad can do what their predecessors have failed to do in 22 years – get past the quarter-finals. 

And bringing it home? Frankly, that’s a bridge too far. 

For now, the grieving English fan can enjoy their spot in the sun and see how Belgium test their squad.