Yet it is not England’s fault that its draw included a gutsy, but undermanned, Tunisia team along with the first squad ever to qualify for the World Cup from Panama.
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The BBC announced on Monday that 14.1m watched on BBC One – an audience share of 82.9 per cent – and there were 2.8m live stream requests across BBC online.
A day later England captain Harry Kane matched that feat thanks to his hat-trick against Panama after his double downed the Tunisians in game one.
Harry Kane struck a hat-trick as England thrashed Panama 6-1 on Sunday to ease into the World Cup last 16 alongside group rivals Belgium.
It was a game England were expected to win, but to do so in such an emphatic manner will surely increase expectation levels for the rest of the tournament.
England took an early lead through John Stones’ bullet header – his first worldwide goal – and Kane doubled their advantage soon after, rifling a penalty into the top corner after Jesse Lingard went down in the box.
If Japan and Senegal win their matches they will be through to the next round.
He was seen in conversation with Gareth Southgate at the start of the second period, and was later asked what he had told the England boss.
He banged in two first-half penalty kicks and unwittingly got his heel in the way of Ruben Loftus-Cheek’s shot from 20 yards in the 62nd minute. With the same number of points as Belgium and an identical number of goals scored and conceded, a solitary yellow card splits the teams on disciplinary grounds.
If Panama need a game after the World Cup, O’Neill’s got them covered!
With the Red Devils strength in depth, he will know that this will be their first real test against a fellow contender and an important one for his fringe players should he opt for wholescale changes.
“A ball to be proud of”, Kane said, taking the man of the match award.
As the team heads towards their Thursday clash with Belgium, Southgate commented: “I’ve heard talk of, ‘Is it better to finish first or second?’ I am not sure how we’re going to work all of that out really so let’s just go and enjoy the game again”.
He may not be completely satisfied, but England yesterday were a team that showed patience, a calm head in front of goal, an all-for-one-and-one-for-all team spirit that rendered the Panamanians’ attempts at intimidation pointless.
Defence is still a slight issue though, with Panama’s goal coming as a result of some transparent marking in the box, and they often allowed Hernán Darío Gómez’s side a half chance due to sloppy position or shaky play at the back. “To score my first goals for England was something special, especially at the World Cup”.
On the evidence of his first two World Cup games, he is relishing the free role he has been afforded by Gareth Southgate – of whom he’s always been a firm favourite, right back from their time together in England’s Under-21s – and has seamlessly translated his form in a United shirt onto the biggest of stages.
“That’s his decision, I guess, but obviously I want to play”.
England’s Harry Kane was the leading goal scorer in their match against Panama. A brace from John Stones and a superb long-range effort from Jesse Lingard were the source of England’s other goals.
Los Canaleros tried to run through and reduce the deficit as England celebrated, but referee Ghead Grisha was having none of it – and they were soon further behind.
“I think it’s important, something big”, Baloy said about his historic goal.
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“We must acknowledge that we didn’t see a great Senegalese performance tonight in comparison to the match against Poland”, he said.
