Thomas Tuchel’s England did what they had to do against Panama. They won 2-0. Harry Kane became England’s all-time leading World Cup goalscorer with his 11th. Jude Bellingham broke the game open with a clever toe-poke finish off a corner. And yes, they finished first in their group with a path through the Azteca potentially waiting.
But anyone watching in New Jersey saw the same thing that’s bugged this team for two straight matches now. England looks vulnerable in ways they probably shouldn’t, and those weaknesses are going to get exposed the moment they face a team that can actually punish them.
The midfield problem without Declan Rice
Tuchel rested Rice against Panama. It made sense on paper, giving the engine of this team a breather before the knockout rounds. But the drop-off was immediate and noticeable. Morgan Rogers slotted in as the No. 10 but couldn’t get involved. The links between defense and attack just weren’t there. Elliot Anderson looked exposed. Panama, a limited side, found space in midfield all afternoon.
Rice has become arguably less replaceable than Kane at this point. And that’s saying something. Without him, England’s shape gets flatter, the passing gets sloppier, and the whole operation starts to look like a team that forgot the rehearsal. Tuchel knew this, which is why he rested him in the first place. They’re going to badly need him in the next round.
The defense is giving up too much space
Ezri Konsa got isolated again. At right-back, with Jarell Quansah filling in for Reece James over Djed Spence, England had no real mobility on that flank. Panama kept finding openings that a better team would have turned into goals. The back line looked static, and that’s a problem when you’re about to face sides that can actually move the ball.
The set-piece goal from Bellingham masked a lot of the structural issues. Before that, England couldn’t create space around Panama’s box. Attacks kept breaking down on wrong passes and bad decisions. Bukayo Saka and Marcus Rashford, back in the starting lineup, couldn’t link up consistently. Rashford at least brought urgency with his runs, but the chemistry isn’t there yet.
Tuchel has talked about building an intense attack with forwards coming from everywhere. Against Panama, that didn’t exist. The football was flat, prosaic, and reliant on individual moments.
Is this team built for the wrong kind of game?
There’s a theory going around that Tuchel’s setup is actually designed for transition matches against elite sides. Kane’s role isn’t just to score but to spray long balls wide for pace to run onto. That kind of game might work against Brazil or Argentina. But first they have to get there.
England’s next opponent is either Senegal or Democratic Republic of Congo in Atlanta. Then a potential quarterfinal against Brazil in Miami. Those are the games where the setup might click. But the worry right now is that the team has toiled through two matches where they were supposed to dominate possession and control the tempo. They had the ball. They just didn’t know what to do with it.
Tuchel was already barking at Kane 15 seconds in for a pass that sailed straight out of play. That kind of thing doesn’t get fixed overnight.
England stays on course. But the route just got a lot harder to navigate than anyone expected before this tournament started.
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