England takes on Panama on Sunday June 24th at 8am Eastern time in Nizhny Novgorod, Russia for their second game of World Cup action. After an emotional stoppage time goal that lead to a 2-1 win for England, they are now looking to sew up a berth in the knockout rounds with a second win. Underdogs, according to our World Cup betting odds, Panama does not pose much of a threat as their lineup does not feature any well-known talent. England, meanwhile, has a number of up and coming players who are eager to write the next chapter in their country's football history.
England
Had Harry Kane not headed in a corner kick in stoppage time against Tunisia, the state of English soccer would have been in panic right now. Instead, Kane came through as a hero and England are now talking about starting the next chapter of success in their soccer history.
The English National team has had a number of setbacks in the last decade. In 2010 they nabbed the second spot in the group stage despite only having scored 2 goals through 3 games, only to go on to the round of 16 and get hammered 4-1 by the Germans. In 2014, England was in a difficult group, but it didn't even seem like it was trying, as they dropped their two first games to Uruguay and Italy before going scoreless against Costa Rica in the final game. Two years later, England would suffer another embarrassment when they lost 2-1 to Iceland in the first knockout round of the Euro 2016 tournament.
This year, however, they are coming in with some new faces, less baggage, and less pressure. Gareth Southgate has taken over as head coach and he has implemented a more streamlined style of play, opting to play the ball out of the backfield as much as possible. Harry Kane proved himself to be a dependable goal scorer in the Tunisia game, while 20-year old Marcus Rashford will also be looking to make a name for himself going forward.
Panama
Panama was like a lamb being lead out to slaughter in its first World Cup game against Belgium. They dropped that game 0-3 and now face another imposing opponent in England. Since it is their first ever World Cup appearance as a nation, they can be forgiven. After all, the real feat for this team was making it in the first place. On the final day of qualifying matches, the last CONCACAF spot was a toss-up between the US and the Panamanians and the US lost their game to Trinidad and Tobago and Panama pulled off a 1-0 victory against Costa Rica, giving them a World Cup berth.
Outside of goaltender Jaime Penedo, there is not much star power on this team. Their more experienced players are getting on in age, and the younger forwards have little experience playing outside of their region.
Match Overview
With a win in this game and the previous matchup against Tunisia, England has all but wrapped up a berth in the round of 16. Panama does not pose much of a threat to England, and as they are in their first World Cup in Panama soccer history, the Panamanians will be satisfied simply not to get blown out. Still, England should not take them lightly, as Panama was in part responsible for keeping the USA out of this year's World Cup. However with minimal effort and any luck, England should win this match.
