England have already secured their place in the knockout stages of the World Cup before kicking a ball in their final Group L fixture against Panama. Thomas Tuchel's side are guaranteed to progress to the last 32 after Friday night's results saw Uruguay beaten by Spain, ensuring England will finish among the top eight third-placed teams at the very least.
England's Path to the Last 32
That means the Three Lions cannot be eliminated, even if they suffer a heavy defeat to Panama at the MetLife Stadium on Saturday. However, England's ambitions will stretch far beyond simply qualifying and their expected opponents have now changed.
Victory over Panama would strengthen their position, while matching Ghana's result against Croatia would be enough to see Tuchel's men finish top of Group L. Topping the group would hand England a last-32 tie in Atlanta on Wednesday against one of the tournament's third-placed qualifiers.
As things stand, that opponent is now most likely to be Senegal rather than the previously expected match with Ecuador, although the final picture will not become fully clear until the remaining group-stage fixtures have been completed. Senegal finally came alive in the tournament in their final match, beating Iraq 5-0. They also beat England 3-1 in a friendly match just last year.
Panama Training Clash
Panama's preparations for their final World Cup group game against England took an unexpected turn after two players were involved in a heated confrontation during training. Thomas Tuchel's side face the Central Americans at the MetLife Stadium on Saturday already assured of a place in the last 32, while Panama have nothing but pride to play for after suffering defeats in their opening two Group L matches.
However, the build-up to the fixture was overshadowed when striker Cecilio Waterman and winger Jose Luis Rodriguez clashed during an open training session. Video footage showed Waterman shoving Rodriguez in the chest before team-mates stepped in to prevent the argument from escalating further. The pair were quickly separated and training resumed without any further incident.
Despite the altercation, Panama head coach Tommy Christiansen insisted there was no cause for concern and said he actually welcomed the fiery exchange. The former Leeds United manager believes the incident demonstrated his players' desire to compete for places despite their World Cup campaign already being over.
Speaking ahead of Saturday's game, Christiansen said: "This is a normal situation. I would have liked to see it more often. It means the team is alive, they are willing to do a good effort and being in the squad fighting for the first XI. If this happened another time it is a good sign they are alive."
Cape Verde Make History
Cape Verde has reached the knockout stage of the World Cup, becoming the smallest country in history to qualify for the next phase of the competition after a 0-0 draw against Saudi Arabia. Players, coaches and fans were all in tears as news came through the result was enough for qualification.
Both teams struggled to create opportunities in front of the goal in the first half. An early attempt from Jamiro Monteiro was saved by Saudi goalkeeper Mohammed Al-Owais. In the second half, Al-Owais comfortably saved an effort from Wagner Pina, while Kevin Pina later shot wide. Cape Verde carved out one last scoring opportunity in the game’s dying seconds, but Nuno da Costa fired just wide of the box.
Cape Verde will play Argentina in Miami on July 3. The country’s three points put them in second place behind Spain in Group H.
