E d in anger
looked like conceding from every high ball and would have done from a corner had Dusko Tosic not failed to connect with a free header and had Nemanja Matic been able to turn in the loose ball.
Needing a goal to avoid having to cheer on their opponents against Brazil on Wednesday, they threw on Mario Gavranovic at half-time for the ineffective frontman Haris Seferovic.
And they got it within seven minutes thanks to Xhaka, who produced the kind of strike to leave Arsenal fans blinking in disbelief. They had only just avoiding conceding from another Mitrovic header from a corner when they launched an attack Kolarov seemed to repel only for the ball to fall for Xhaka to lash it home leftfooted first time from 20 yards.
Mitrovic had a furious penalty appeal turned down after a tangle in the box before an offside flag – The Telegraph AP spared Gavranovic’s blushes when he fired wide after being put through by Shaqiri. Breel Embolo tried to provide it with a longrange strike straight at Stojkovic. But given the politically-charged atmosphere, the clincher seemed destined to come from a Balkan and it was Shaqiri – of all of them – who provided it in stoppagetime. WORLD Cup challenges come in many forms, and having won their game of patience against Tunisia, England must now pass their physical against Panama tomorrow.
After all the talk of dropping players, England were dropping hints on Friday, highlighting Panama’s physicality. Gareth Southgate told ITV that Panama ‘‘play with no little aggression’’ and his centre back Harry Maguire also responded at length to questions about it. Whether by accident or design, England got the message out.
‘‘We’re fully prepared for a battle,’’ Maguire said. ‘‘They’re going to want it physical but we’re more than capable of adapting to that.’’
Panama can time their tackles, as Michael Murillo showed late on with a vital challenge on Eden Hazard but they still committed 18 fouls against Belgium, four of which brought bookings, while there was one more yellow card for dissent. Hazard suffered a buffeting in Sochi.
The game will be officiated by Egyptian referee Gehad Grisha, overseeing his first World Cup match but resident for ten years on the Fifa list. England will hope that he is mindful of any Panamanian physicality but they sound prepared.
‘‘We work hard in the gym, we work on set plays, which are massive,’’ Maguire said. ‘‘And if they want to be physical we will be well prepared for it. As long as we come off victorious, I’ll be smiling at the end.’’
Maguire pointed to the physical nature of League One, where he played 134 times for Sheffield United, amassing a red card and 31 yellows (including one double-yellow red).
‘‘I grew up playing in lots of physical battles against lots of players. It’s something I enjoy,’’ he said. ‘‘I’m a big lad myself, so I feel I can handle myself in a battle. I’ve had a broken nose and a few black eyes. It’s part and parcel of the game.’’ – The Times AP
The Sheffield-born Maguire forms an all-Yorkshire defence with John Stones (Barnsley) and Kyle Walker (Sheffield).
‘‘There are quite a lot of Yorkshire lads in the squad and they all tend to be defenders or defensive midfielders [such as Fabian Delph] or determined attackers [such as Jamie Vardy]. It must be something from the culture of the area. I’m sure there are other parts of the country who are more than capable of getting in a physical battle but we’re all up for it,’’ Maguire said.
‘‘Discipline is going to be a big part of the game. They might want to frustrate us, make people angry, but we’ve got to keep our cool and keep calm. If they are continuously fouling us we can’t react in a bad way. Hopefully it’s going to be a good game and we can impose our attacking threat on them as well as the physical side, try to get the ball down on the deck and create chances that way.’’
Harry Kane certainly kept his composure against Tunisia in England’s opening 2-1 win in Volgograd.
‘‘He was the perfect example,’’ Maguire said. ‘‘At every corner he seemed to be getting grabbed and wrestled but he’s got away from his man twice, stuck two in the back of the net and won us the game. If we can all react like that it would be a perfect scenario.’’
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