England VS Panama Match Prediction

England and Panama have never previously played against each other.

%HEAD-TO-HEAD-STATS-BANNER%

England vs Panama Stats

 England have not lost in their last 11 games – their last defeat was more than a year ago against France

 Panama have failed to score in five of their last six matches

 They have drawn their last two matches against British opposition, however – 1-1 with Wales in November and 0-0 with Northern Ireland last month

 Harry Kane has scored seven of England’s last 11 competitive goals, including four in the 90th minute or later

England vs Panama Betting Tips

England banished a few demons with their stoppage-time winner against Tunisia in their opening match, earning a victory which should lift a little pressure on Gareth Southgate’s side.

Against Panama they should make lighter work of claiming their second consecutive win – Belgium beat the North American’s 3-0 without needing to find top gear.

Where Belgium had Romelu Lukaku in top form, meanwhile, England have Harry Kane – his two goals against Tunisia a good platform for a man chasing the golden boot at this World Cup.

Another two will move him level with Cristiano Ronaldo after two games, and he will certainly have the chances to do that if England play to their full strength on Sunday.

Kieran Trippier created plenty against Tunisia, and another performance like that from England’s rampaging wing-back will surely lead to goals for the likes of Kane.

From set pieces, meanwhile, both Harry Maguire and John Stones were big threats and both could get among the goals too.

It would be unfair on Panama to completely write them off – they did hold firm for 45 minutes against Belgium last time out – but it would be a huge shock if this ended with anything other than a comfortable England win.

England vs Panama Recommended bets with odds

Unsurprisingly, England are comfortable favourites to beat Panama on Sunday, with Bet365, Ladbrokes and Betfair offering 1/5 on an England win.

Given Panama have only scored one goal in their last six games, however, it is worth backing England to win to nil at 8/13 with Ladbrokes. Ladbrokes are also offering the best price of 1/2 on an England clean sheet.

Belgium scored three against Panama last time out, and England will hope to do likewise. Over 2.5 goals will return 17/20 with Betfair and a winning margin of three goals will return 4/1 with Betfair and Paddy Power.

Unsurprisingly after his double against Tunisia, captain Harry Kane is 5/9 to score at any time with 888sport and you can get 2/1 from Paddy Power, Betfair and Ladbrokes on him getting the first goal.

A good outside bet could be Harry Maguire or John Stones, however, given how threatening England looked from set pieces against Tunisia. Maguire is 9/1 to score at any time and Stones is as high as 13/1 with Betfair and Paddy Power.

England vs Panama Top three bets

1) England to win to nil at 8/13 with Ladbrokes
2) Total goals = over 2.5 at 17/20 with Betfair
3) England to keep a clean sheet at 1/2 with Ladbrokes

England vs Panama Prediction

England got their World Cup off to a winning start and it would be a big shock if they did not follow that up with another three points against Panama - particularly given Belgium’s comfortable win over the same opposition.

Correct score prediction: England 3-0 Panama

Correct score best odds: 11/2 (Betfair)

England Team News

Dele Alli is doubtful for England’s game with Panama after suffering a minor thigh strain in the win against Tunisia. He was replaced by Ruben Loftus-Cheek in that game, while Fabian Delph is another option in the central midfield role. Gareth Southgate must also choose whether to stick with under-fire forward Raheem Sterling – who has been unable to replicate his club form at international level – or replace him in the England line up for this match against Panama, with fit-again Marcus Rashford, who scored on his last start against Costa Rica. Bizarrely, Southgate himself picked up an injury in the build-up to this game – dislocating his shoulder while out running.

England Key Players

Harry Kane (striker) – The England captain scored both goals in the opening-day win against Tunisia, to continue the form which saw him hit 30 in the Premier League last season.

Kieran Trippier (right wing-back) – The Spurs wing-back bombed up and down the right flank to create more chances than any other player in the opening game

Harry Maguire (defender) – While there were question marks over some of his passing, the Leicester defender’s physical presence from attacking set pieces was a constant threat

England Previous match

Tunisia 1-2 England (Kane (2))

England left it late but claimed a valuable – and deserved – three points from their opening game thanks to Harry Kane’s stoppage-time header. The captain had already given England the lead, following in from close range when John Stone’s bullet header was saved, before Tunisia drew level

when Kyle Walker conceded a penalty. After having two big penalty appeals of their own turned down, Kane then popped up to head in from close-range, when Harry Maguire headed a corner across goal, in the first minute of stoppage time to win the game for England.

England Team Form

England have not lost for 11 games, winning four of their last five following the late victory against Tunisia. They headed into the World Cup on the back of two wins, with Gary Cahill and Harry Kane netting in a 2-1 win against Nigeria and Marcus Rashford and Danny Welbeck scoring the goals as Costa Rica were beaten 2-0. The last team to stop them winning was Italy, at Wembley in March.

England Predicted Starting Line up

Expected Line up: 3-1-4-2

Panama Team News

Panama made just one change from the team which faced Norway in their final warm-up match when they played against Belgium - right-back Michael Murillo replacing Adolfo Machado. The side is unlikely to be changed to face England, meaning Blas Perez will continue up front in place of his fellow joint-top all-time goalscorer Luis Tejada.

Panama Key Players

Blas Perez (striker) – Likely to start up front, he shares the national goalscoring record with Luis Tejada having netted 43 times in 119 appearances.

Luis Tejada (striker) – Appeared off the bench against Belgium but could not add to his 43 international goals as he won his 106th cap.

Roman Torres (defender) – The most experienced of Panama’s defenders, the Seattle Sounders will be tasked with marking Harry Kane.

Panama Previous result

Belgium 3-0 Panama

Panama stood firm until half-time against Belgium but a goal two minutes after the restart broke their resolve. Loose marking allowed Romelu Lukaku to grab two more and, in truth, Panama team never really threatened Belgium in a game in which they had just two shots on target and 38 per cent possession.

Panama Team Form

A 1-0 win away to Trinidad & Tobago, outside of the FIFA calendar, is Panama’s only win in their last eight matches. They have twice drawn with UK opposition – 1-1 with Wales in November and 0-0 with Northern Ireland last month – but lost to Iran, Denmark, Switzerland and Norway before the World Cup, and then 3-0 to Belgium in their opening World Cup game. They have scored just one goal in their last six matches – the winner against Trinidad, scored in the last minute by Josiel Nunez, who is not even in the World Cup squad.

Panama Predicted Starting Line up

Expected Line up: 4-1-4-1

England left it late to beat Tunisia in their opening game, but after their positive start to the game was ultimately rewarded with three points, they should now make it two wins from two against minnows Panama. Harry Kane is targeting the golden boot and knows a few more goals against the World Cup debutants will go a long way to helping him achieve that.

England have not lost for more than a year - a run of 11 games without defeat, of which they have won eight.