Goal-hungry Lions just awesome
WOW – just wow! Try putting a lid on expectations after this stunning goal-fest.
Keep dreaming, start believing and shout it from the rooftops. This could just be England’s year. The nation is falling hopelessly in love with Gareth Southgate’s young cavaliers.
Past England sides stunk out tournaments. These Three Lions are now lighting up this one and narrowly top Group G ahead of Thursday’s final game against second-placed Belgium.
Boss Southgate challenged his players to rewrite history before the game. But never in his wildest dreams could he have imagined within 24 hours they’d have done it in such style.
OK, it was only Panama. Bad-tempered, ill-disciplined, hopeless Panama. But let’s take nothing away from a performance which oozed confidence and screamed belief.
Previously England have been dragged down by inferior opponents. Not this time. Not these Three Lions. No tension, no toying, just a whiteshirted first-half tornado which pummelled Panama into submission and smashed a string of records in the process.
At the break, England were 5-0 up having scored more goals than they’d ever managed in a World Cup game. It was the first time they’d bagged more than three since the 1966 final. Now there’s an omen!
To think that before beating Tunisia in last week’s opening game, they’d not managed two in a game at this level in 12 years.
At this stage four years ago in Brazil, England had already been knocked out. Under Southgate, they’re simply knockout.
No-one more so than Harry Kane, who emulated the achievements of Sir Geoff Hurst and Gary Lineker in scoring a hat-trick to give him five goals in two games.
His third, in the 62nd minute, took him level with Sir Geoff on five World Cup goals. If he carries on at this rate, it won’t just be a Golden Boot he’s collecting but a knighthood too!
And what about John Stones, whose first-half double means he has scored twice as many World Cup goals as Wayne Rooney?
The best goal on a sweltering, crazy afternoon came from Jesse Lingard, roughed up and from IAN MURTAGH in Nizhny Novgorod