Panama vs England - World Cup RECAP: All the reaction as Jude Bellingham delivers top group spot with dazzling performance in New York - now, Senegal or DR Congo await in the knockouts

Panama vs England - World Cup RECAP: All the reaction as Jude Bellingham delivers top group spot with dazzling performance in New York - now, Senegal or DR Congo await in the knockouts - Have you paid attention to the action so far? Try our World Cup quiz HERE - See more Daily Mail on Google - save us as a Preferred Source By HARRY BAMFORTH, LIVE SPORTS COVERAGE REPORTER and TAMARA PRENN, SENIOR SPORTS REPORTER and OLIVER HOLT, CHIEF SPORTS WRITER and IAN LADYMAN, FOOTBALL EDITOR and MIKE KEEGAN, CHIEF SPORTS REPORTER and JACK GAUGHAN and CRAIG HOPE, CHIEF FOOTBALL REPORTER Updated: Relive Daily Mail Sport's coverage as England take on Panama in their final Group L match as Thomas Tuchel and Co battle to keep a firm grip on their first-place spot in New York. England top the group Job done for England. Was it pretty? No. Has it filled fans with confidence? No. But does any of that matter? Not really. At the end of the day, England have finished top of Group L and will have an easier path in the tournament because of it. They have Jude Bellingham to thank for that. The midfielder is always the man for the big occasion, and once again he stood up to be counted when the Three Lions needed him most. Bellingham netted the opener and then provided the assist for Harry Kane's record-breaking goal not long after. It was five minutes that turned the game on its head. Anyway, it's the early hours of the morning in the UK, so I need to head to bed. Thank you for joining today, and we will see you soon. HIGHLIGHTS: Panama 0-2 England Anybody still with me? If you're from the UK, I imagine you are starting to flag now, but if you're in the US, then you will definitely be kicking about. So, for those of you still reading this, I have the highlights from the game for you. Sadly, I can't find access to highlights that will work Stateside, as I am currently working from across the pond. 'Bellingham reprises his role as saviour' Oliver Holt at the MetLife Stadium: Jude Bellingham’s little town blues melted away a long time ago, before he made it big with Borussia Dortmund and Real Madrid. But if ever an England player was born to the New York stage and its bright lights and its promise of new worlds, it is him. So start spreading the news: Bellingham is reprising the role of England’s saviour that he made his own during Euro '24. When his team were struggling against Panama in the wastelands of the Meadowlands on Saturday, when it looked as if they might finish second in Group L, it was Bellingham who stepped up. There were worried looks among England fans after an hour had elapsed at the MetLife Stadium in New Jersey with the scores goalless. Thomas Tuchel was, once again, doing his best impression of the haunted figure in Edvard Munch’s painting, The Scream. Rashford: 'We aren't at our peak level' Marcus Rashford, England winger, speaking to BBC Sport: Job done. Now it's just about recovery and try to go again. We expect to be in this position. We work all season together to be here, so we're happy we managed to get the job done and this little chapter is done now and we can move on and keep improving because I think we're doing well, but we have so much to improve on and so much we're capable of doing. For me, it's the perfect position to be in as a team and we're ready to kick on and do more. It was always going to be a tough group. There are physical teams in the last two games we played and Croatia's you can't give them a minute on the ball because the quality of their passing is so high, so different games but equally as tough but it doesn't matter, we have to do whatever the game requires to try to win and we managed to do that today. I don't think anyone's playing at their peak level that we've seen them play at during the season but it's a good problem to have because as individuals, as a team, we have strides to take and you never want your best performances to be in the group stage anyway and we want to kick on and grow and go full throttle against teams and try to punish them at every opportunity. WATCH: England players and fans sing Wonderwall Sweet Caroline? Nahhh. Wonderwall? Hell yeah. Neil Diamond, step aside because England have a new post-match celebration song. Sweet Caroline had a good run, and obviously, it's still much-loved and sung during matches, but it has been replaced. Just look at the scenes post-match when Wonderwall came on. 'Bellingham's the one player who looks like he’s in form' Gary Neville, former England defender, speaking about Jude Bellingham on ITV: He’s the one player who looks like he’s in form, who's fresh, sharp, lively. He’s played at the level you’d expect. The rest of them are going to have to get to his level and form quite quickly. Thomas Tuchel said we will step up for the bigger games - they’re going to have to. From being a defender in that position, you are pressing against the forward, looking to do enough to disrupt him and put him off. How Jude kept control and his eye on the ball and the technique to finish is absolutely brilliant. 'Kane's not going anywhere' Alan Shearer, former England captain, speaking on BBC Sport about Harry Kane's record: Just incredible. He's a staggering goalscorer. The standards that he's set and the standards he hits week in, week out, he's just incredible and deserves everything. He's not going anywhere. He's coming into this tournament of the back of 61 goals for his club which is just staggering. When I first started in the late 80s, early 90s, if you got 20 a season that was impressive. These guys now, and Harry is one of them, are taking goalscoring to different levels. He's an incredible professional and deserves it all. Kane: 'A proud moment to break the record' More from Harry Kane, England captain, on BBC Sport: It is a proud one for sure. I spoke before the tournament about the World Cup being the biggest competition we play as professional footballers, so to get to 11 goals is a proud feeling. It is always hard to take in. I just want to enjoy this moment with the team, enjoy being top of the table. I never take these moments for granted. Another good milestone to hit and I hope it is not the last one in this tournament. England get job done *Insert video of Roy Keane saying 'it's his job'* If you want a compilation of all the scenes of celebration from the US and back in the UK, then this is your video. Just look at what it means. Bellingham's MOTM performance in numbers Jude Bellingham's statistics from the win over Panama: - 71 minutes played - 68 touches - 11 duels won (most) - 8 touches in opp. box - 7 passes into final third - 7 possessions won - 4 tackles won - 4 chances created (most) - 4 fouls won (most) - 3 take-ons completed (most) - 2 big chances created (most) - 1 assist - 1 goal Kane: 'It was one of them' Harry Kane, England captain, on ITV: Solid performance. I'd say 75 per cent really good but there is still 25 per cent we can improve on for sure but all in all another good win. A clean sheet playing against a tricky side, they had some dangerous players, and they like to play around the corners. First half, especially, I felt that the ball kept falling to them in certain situations and it was hard to get a rhythm and maybe lacked quality in the final third. In the second half, we were better, more dominant. We controlled their transitions better, which allowed us to put pressure on and I felt like the goal was coming. To get two pretty quickly was a good feeling. It was one of them. I felt like I was getting into good posistions but the ball wasn't quite falling for me and they defended well, defended the box well, similar to the last game. I was making good movements but it kept avoiding me. I had a good chance before where Jude slid me in and the keeper made a good save. As a striker, you are itching to get chances and Jude had a lovely bit of play on the left and hung a ball up perfectly for me to attack and it was nice to see it go in. Scenes of celebration There was quite the celebration after the full-time whistle. The new tradition of singing Wonderwall after a win continued, and while this was not quite as impressive, it was still one hell of a moment. Then the supporters started belting out 'Hey Jude', who was absolutely lapping up the praise. I mean, he deserved it. 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