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England take on Panama today knowing that they are on the verge of making it to the next round. A win would seal their spot in the next round while a draw would mean they have to get a result vs Belgium as well.
Today's match will be the first-ever meeting between England and Panama. The debutants lost their first game 3-0 to Belgium and that was the biggest debut game defeat since Ukraine's 4-0 loss to Spain in 2006!
England's only defeat to a CONCACAF team was vs the USA and that was way back in 1950! The Three Lions conceded just three goals in their World Cup qualifiers and were one of the four teams to remain unbeaten alongside Germany, Belgium and Spain.
CONCACAF teams had never won against European opponents at the World Cup. That changed last week when Mexico shocked Germany in the Group F opener.
This week was all about the England media vs the players. Steve Holland was carrying around a piece of paper and it had an XI written on it. The media revealed it to be the XI that will be starting and that caused a lot of controversies.
England Team News
England have just one injury concern – Dele Alli. The Tottenham star has a thigh strain and will be sitting out of today's match.
"This morning he followed the exact programme we had planned. He started training with the rest of the group and then did some more running on his own, so he's progressing really well. We're really pleased with where he is at, but he wouldn't be ready for the game," said the manager.
The rumours suggested that Marcus Rashford was going to start vs Panama but reports now suggest that Raheem Sterling will be retaining his place in the starting XI.
England XI and Formation
