England put on quite the display
Any nerves that England fans had going into the match against Panama were quickly banished when John Stones opened the scoring in the 8th minute. His emphatic header set up England for a thoroughly entertaining afternoon as the Three Lions went on to put five more past the World Cup new boys.
The Panama manager Hernan Gomez made no bones how impressed he was by England’s display, as he approached Gareth Southgate at half-time to express his admiration for England.
Speaking in the post-match press conference, Gomez said:
“England are totally spectacular, a beautiful team. I went to congratulate him (Southgate) at half-time, I told him I really like his team.”
Panama coach Hernan Gomez: "England are totally spectacular, a beautiful team. I went to congratulate him (Southgate) at half-time, I told him I really like his team." Acknowledged that both Kane penalties came from clear fouls by his Panama side. #ENGPAN #eng
— Henry Winter (@henrywinter) June 24, 2018
It’s hard to disagree with Gomez. England were by far the superior team this afternoon, as was expected.
However, the games will get tougher, starting on Thursday when England play Belgium. Southgate wants England to keep the momentum up, although coming second to Belgium could actually be beneficial in the long run.
