Kane enables England win
Captain Harry Kane scored three times as England moved into the next round at the World Cup with a 6-1 win over Panama
NIZHNY NOVGOROD, Russia — In humidity usually so debilitating for England, the goals flowed freely.
A 6-1 rout of Panama on Sunday — led by Harry Kane’s hat trick — was the national team’s largest-ever victory margin at the World Cup.
“The way we played, the discipline, the hard work, and that’s what we are here to do,” Kane said. “We’ve been working hard on set pieces and it’s nice to see them coming together.”
Not since the 4-2 victory over Germany in the 1966 final has England scored as many goals at the World Cup.
The ruthlessness of the display in the sweltering heat of Nizhny Novgorod showed just how far England has been transformed in the four years since an older, more experienced squad couldn’t even manage a win when it exited the World Cup in Brazil in the group stage.
In 2014, England complained about the heat in Brazil — particularly the humidity of the Amazonian jungle in the team’s opening loss to Italy.
Now England is sure of a spot in the round of 16 with a game to spare in Group G. Panama, which offered little resistance, is leaving the tournament after being eliminated along with Tunisia.
Sterner tests await, starting with the Thursday’s game against Belgium. England and Belgium are level on points and goal difference and will play for first place in the group.
With five goals in two games in his World Cup debut, Kane is the leading scorer at this year’s tournament — one ahead of Cristiano Ronaldo and Romelu Lukaku.
Not that England is reliant on Kane, who couldn’t find the net at the 2016 European Championship. John Stones headed in two goals and Jesse Lingard curled in another.
In Russia, England has been trying to cast aside the negativity of the past while remoulding the image of the team on and off the field. Even locals were supporting the team in Nizhny Novgorod, despite the bitter diplomatic relations between Russia and Britain.
Where past England teams might have wilted in warm temperatures, this one pressed with high-tempo intensity to ensure there was no need to scrape a win like on Monday against Tunisia.