Who else? Jude Bellingham came to England’s rescue again.
They lacked inspiration, precision and a finish until Bellingham intervened after just over an hour's laboured performance against opponents ranked 40th in the world and with a population of 4.5m - half that of London.
Bellingham scored one, a difficult finish under pressure, and created the other, a historic one for Harry Kane.
Jude Bellingham provides England spark once again
Bellingham is only 22, playing in his fourth major tournament, and comes under intense scrutiny. He takes it in his stride, and delivers. He was comfortably the best player on the pitch.
Thomas Tuchel withdrew Bellingham towards the end, protecting him for the round of 32 test in Atlanta, probably against Senegal. Bellingham still had the energy to run 70 yards to do his TV interview after the final whistle.
Down the other end, Bellingham’s team-mates were being serenaded with “Wonderwall” by their fans. Kane smiled at all the joyous faces. He and Bellingham are England’s most important players. Maybe? Definitely.
This was a reminder of the importance of Bellingham, the ridiculousness of some of the excessive criticism of him, and also the importance of the right delivery from the wide areas.
England’s first goal came from a corner, the second from a cross. Kane’s 11th World Cup goal was a well-taken header created by Bellingham. It took Kane to 11 World Cup goals, an England record, moving him clear of Gary Lineker.
England will need to match Bellingham’s levels. From the start he looked the right mix of fired up and focused. England fans sang about returning here on July 19. The final.
Given the quality of teams elsewhere in the tournament, England know they have to raise their game, certainly on the first-half evidence. Only Bellingham and Marcus Rashford impressed.
As it stood at the break, England were playing Portugal on Thursday in Toronto in the round of 32. Cristiano Ronaldo again? Gelsenkirchen revisited, twenty years on. Not the winker again? England had to shake things up.
For 45 minutes, Tuchel’s players were too ponderous to elude their opponents’ mid-block. Panama’s five-man defence looked to catch Tuchel’s attackers offside and were effective.
England were also vulnerable to the occasional counter. Marc Guehi twice, and Ezri Konsa, reacted smartly to close down threat emanating from Tomas Rodriguez, the point of their 5-4-1 formation.
The bright spark amidst the gloom in the scoreless opening 45 was Bellingham. Usually at 10, Bellingham adapted easily to the No 8 role in the absence of Declan Rice. Tuchel sensibly protected Rice, who was a booking away from suspension for the round of 32. Bellingham was quickly at home in this box-to-box role.
When Bellingham was 13, his coach at Birmingham City’s academy, Mike Dodds, told him he could play any midfield role, 4, 8 or 10. Bellingham proved adept at all of them, and so wore No 22. It added up. He showed his tackling abilities here as well as his passing, and linked up promisingly with Marcus Rashford on the left.
Not a lot was happening on the field and the camera strayed from the action to the stand, picking out some familiar football faces in the crowd. Not the usual Hollywood celebrities that the US broadcasters devour but the FA’s Dan Ashworth talking to Juan Mata, and David Dein sitting alongside Tyrone Mings. Quite the quartet.
England sloped off at the interval to a few boos. It was all so different to eight years ago in Nizhny Novgorod in Russia; Gareth Southgate’s side were 5-0 up then.
England finally took control just after the hour mark and inevitably it was Bellingham the catalyst. Bukayo Saka swept a corner over from the left and Bellingham was too clever and strong for the Jorge Gutierrez. The Real Madrid player snaked his left foot around the defender, connecting with the ball and sending it from seven yards past Orlando Mosquera.
Bellingham set off in celebration to the corner where England fans punched the air, partly in relief. No Ronaldo. Now they were heading to Atlanta to face probably Senegal, possibly DR Congo. Now they were seeing England play with more finish. And belief. Within five minutes, England were further clear.
Their fans could never relax, but here was a moment for exhaling deep. England were two up. Bellingham played the creator this time, taking his time, letting Kane make his move, before lifting the ball in left-footed. Kane wanted the ball more than Andres Andrade. He rose and steered his header powerfully home.
The half was not without cost. Jarell Quansah, deputising at right-back, got injured, and needed to depart after the first goal. His replacement, Djed Spence, now looks the last fit England right-back in the US. Oh, and Lee Dixon, who is on TV duty here.
Noni Madueke came on for Saka as Tuchel continued to ring the changes. Bellingham was replaced by Eberechi Eze, then Jordan Henderson arrived to play in his seventh tournament as Tuchel gave Anderson a breather.
Ollie Watkins sprinted on as Kane was withdrawn to prepare him for the knock-out rigours to come. With Bellingham in this form, England have a good chance of progressing further.
