World Cup roundup: England routs Panama to clinch spot in knockout stage

England star scores hat trick in dominant win vs. Panama

England's Harry Kane celebrates after he scored his team's second goal during its World Cup Group G match against Panama on Sunday in Nizhny Novgorod, Russia. Kane finished with three goals as England won 6-1 to advance to the next round of play.
England's Harry Kane celebrates after he scored his team's second goal during its World Cup Group G match against Panama on Sunday in Nizhny Novgorod, Russia. Kane finished with three goals as England won 6-1 to advance to the next round of play.

NIZHNY NOVGOROD, Russia - With two penalty kicks and an accidental deflection, Harry Kane moved ahead of soccer greats David Beckham and Cristiano Ronaldo and put England into the knockout stage at the World Cup.

Kane scored half of England's goals Sunday in a 6-1 rout of Panama, the national team's largest-ever margin of victory at the tournament.

"The third one is probably one of the luckiest ones of my career," said Kane, who took the game ball to the locker room. "Sometimes you go through spells where you are scoring, and sometimes it doesn't fall for you.

"Not many players get to score a hat trick in a World Cup."

Kane has scored a tournament-leading five goals in Russia, one more than Belgium's Romelu Lukaku and Portugal's Ronaldo. He also has 18 all-time for England's national team, one more than Beckham, the retired star midfielder.

Not since its 4-2 victory versus Germany in the 1966 final had England scored as many goals at a World Cup.

The ruthlessness of the display in sweltering heat showed just how far England has been transformed in the four years since an older, more experienced squad couldn't even manage a win before exiting in the group stage. In 2014, England complained about the heat in Brazil - and particularly the humidity of the Amazonian jungle in the an opening loss to Italy.

Kane scored both of England's goals in its Group G opener against Tunisia last Monday, including a header in stoppage time for a 2-1 win.

"The other day we had to go right to the wire and show qualities that were going to be extremely important," England coach Gareth Southgate said. "The only downside (Sunday) was the goal (by Panama) at the end, because we talked at halftime about the importance of controlling the group with our goal difference.

"We missed out on that opportunity, but it would be harsh to criticize the players after a day like that, in the heat as well, so we must enjoy the win."

Panama, which offered little resistance, is out of contention for the next round, along with Tunisia. Both are 0-2 in the group, and they'll end their time at this World Cup by facing off Thursday in Saransk.

Sterner tests await England, starting with its group finale Thursday against Belgium in Kaliningrad. The teams are level on points and goal difference and will play for first place in the group.

England showed it wasn't only reliant on Kane. John Stones headed in two goals - on a corner kick by Kieran Trippier for a 1-0 lead in the eighth minute and while cleaning up in the 40th minute - and Jesse Lingard curled in another in the 36th minute off a pass from Raheem Sterling.

Kane scored on penalties in the 22nd and 45th minutes to make it 5-0. He relied on his heel to complete his hat trick by getting the faintest of touches to divert Ruben Loftus-Cheek's shot into the net. England completed 25 passes in the buildup, the most in any World Cup match since 1966, according to Opta.

Felipe Baloy slid to meet Ricardo Avila's free kick and scored Panama's first World Cup goal.

Colombia 3, Poland 0

KAZAN, Russia - Radamel Falcao's first World Cup goal contributed to a victory that kept Colombia in the running for a spot in the knockout round.

Falcao had been expected to lead the team four years ago in Brazil, but he injured his knee ahead of the tournament and missed Colombia's run to the quarterfinals. The 32-year-old striker scored with the outside of his foot in the 70th minute Sunday on a superb pass from playmaker Juan Quintero in the back of the defense.

Yerry Mina had the first goal in the 40th minute, and Juan Cuadrado completed the scoring in the 75th.

Poland, which has two losses in Group H, was eliminated from contention for a spot in the round of 16. Both teams lost their openers and knew another loss would end their hopes of advancing.

Colombia faces Senegal on Thursday in Samara with a chance to win the group, while Poland will play Japan in Volgograd.

Japan 2, Senegal 2

YEKATERINBURG, Russia - Senegal took the lead twice. Japan tied both times.

Keisuke Honda came off the bench in the second half and scored in the 78th minute, becoming his country's first player to score at three World Cup and giving the Japanese a draw that kept these teams atop the Group H standings.

Sadio Mane gave Senegal the lead in the 11th minute with his first World Cup goal. Moussa Wague crossed from the right, but Genki Haraguchi failed to properly clear the ball. Youssouf Sabaly then sent a shot toward the goal, Japan keeper Eiji Kawashima was unable to control it, and Mane tapped it into the net.

Japan struck back in the 34th minute when Takashi Inui scored with a low shot from inside the penalty area after receiving a pass from Yuto Nagamoto on a quick counterattack.

Senegal went up 2-1 in the 71st minute. Sabaly crossed the ball for Mbaye Niang, who backheeled it toward Wague. The 19-year-old forward's shot went high but into the net.

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