THE VERDICT: ENGLAND 6 PANAMA 1 Three Lions are just wild about

HARRY Kane’s hat-trick inspired England to their biggest ever World Cup win as Gareth Southgate’s men sealed progress to the last 16 with a 6-1 demolition of Panama.

They secured progress to the knockout phase with a thrilling World Cup win that will live long in the memory as Kane’s hat-trick complemented John Stones’ brace and a Jesse Lingard stunner.

Substitute Felipe Baloy netted the Central American’s first ever goal at the finals but it could not take the gloss off a Three Lions win which was as comprehensive as it was impressive, setting up an intriguing shoot-out with Belgium for top spot on Thursday.

After displaying their character to seal a last-gasp win against Tunisia, England kept a cool head to deal with Panama’s rough-house tactics in sweltering Nizhny Novgorod.

Stones headed home his first two international goals in an opening period which saw Kane smash home two spotkicks and Lingard curl home from the edge of the penalty area.

England made light work of a Panama side focused on unsettling rather than outplaying them, with captain Kane becoming his country’s third player to score a World Cup finals hat-trick when the ball went in off him early in the second-half. Baloy made history late on but it did not take the edge off a victory to cherish.

Gabriel Gomez’s elbow on Lingard within two minutes gave Southgate’s side an indication of the brutish challenge facing them, while Anibal Godoy snatched at an early attempt at the other end. But there would be precious few chances – and even less goodwill – after Panama’s tactics cost them in the eighth minute. Kane was dragged to the deck from a corner as they employed grappling techniques UFC fighters would be proud of, but Hernan Dario Gomez’s side forgot to mark Stones and the City centre-back headed home his first international goal.

Kieran Trippier, again impressing at right-back, clipped a lovely ball to Lingard who was bundled to the deck by Fidel Escobar. Panama resorted to gamesmanship to put Kane off the penalty, but his finish into the top corner could hardly have been sweeter.

Lingard added a sumptuous third, collecting a loose ball in the 36th minute and playing a smart one-two with Raheem Sterling before bending home an outstanding effort.

England showed no mercy and a smart set-piece routine saw Jordan Henderson clip a first-time ball over to Kane, whose header across goal was met by Sterling. When his initial effort was stopped, Stones (8, 40), Kane (22, 45+1, 62), Lingard (36) Baloy (78) 59% 41% 18 10 3 2 Loftus-Cheek Murillo, Escobar, Cooper Ghead Grisha 43, 319 Stones was on hand to net. With halftime approaching, England became the fifth team in World Cup history to score five or more in the opening period. Kane was dragged to the deck by Godoy and took delight in firing home the resulting spot-kick.

Ruben Loftus-Cheek, in for the injured Dele Alli, took aim with a shot that went in off Kane’s heel in the second-half, with the VAR giving the green light for that hat-trick after checking for offside.

‘Football’s coming home’ rang out at the final whistle, with Southgate forgetting his dislocated shoulder to celebrate wildly with England’s support.