England should consider themselves lucky to have three points after the first round, as they beat Tunisia 2:1 with the winning goal being scored in the stoppage time. They now face another fairly easy game, against Panama, before playing for the top spot in the Group G against Belgium in the third round. But, unless they beat Panama first, they won’t be able to compete for the first place. That is why you can be sure England will play very offensively this Sunday afternoon in Nizhny Novgorod.
England
In their first match on the tournament, England had 17 attempts on the goal of Tunisia. Still, they scored only two of those, both of which came after corners. But, they can’t rely only on set-pieces, they need to become more lethal ASAP!
And they definitely do have the quality to put away many goals against Panama. Harry Kane, one of the world’s best strikers, is their number 9. This guy scored both of the goals against Tunisia and is very motivated to keep his form going. Right now, he’s one of the biggest favorites for being the top scorer of the tournament.
Of course, England is not all about Kane. They have plenty of top-quality players in the team. One footballer that kind of surprised everyone is Kieran Trippier. Tottenham’s full back played on the right wing in the match with Tunisia and manager to send some amazing crosses to Kane. Actually, this is the guy who took the corner in the stoppage time after which Kane scored the winner.
But, what about their defense? Well, we didn’t have too many opportunities to see their defenders and their goalie in action as England had the ball in their possession all the time in the match against Tunisia. The same will probably be the case in the game against Panama, which England are expected to control from the very start.
Panama
Panama lost 3:0 to Belgium in the first round, although they did show defensive quality in the first 45 minutes of that match. But, they definitely don’t have the players good enough to take them to the knockout stage. Surely, they can try to defend with all they got, but they probably won’t be able to manage to keep a clean sheet entire match.
And when it comes to their attack, they seem incapable of scoring against England. There are a couple of pacey forwards in this team, but they’re not very skillful with the ball, at least not as England players. I doubt they will have more than one-two goal attempts on Sunday.
Possible Lineups
England:
Pickford – Stones, Maguire, Walker, Trippier, Young – Henderson, Lingard, Alli, Sterling – Kane
Panama:
Panedo – Escobar, Torres, Murrilo, Davis – Gomez, Cooper, Godoy, Barcenas, Rodriguez – Perez
England vs. Panama Match Prediction
I have no doubt England will win this. They missed a lot of opportunities against Tunisia, but the same won’t happen twice. I expect them to thrash Panama, scoring at least three-four goals along the way. That said, betting on Asian Handicap -2.5 Goals seems like a very good option.
England vs. Panama Betting Tips
- England @1.18 (bet365)
- England AH -2.5 Goals @2.70 (Unibet)