The following is a match centre with betting tips for the 2018 FIFA World Cup Group G fixture between England and Panama. The game kicks off on the 24th of June at 10:00 PM AEST. It will be broadcast live by SBS, who now have the rights to all remaining group stage matches.
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England
- FIFA World Rank: 12
- Elo Rating: 7
- Qualifying: Won Group F with an 8-2-0 record in the UEFA Confederation qualification.
Squad:
- Coach: Gareth Southgate
- Goalkeepers: Jordan Pickford (Everton), Jack Butland (Stoke City), Nick Pope (Burnley)
- Defenders: Kyle Walker (Manchester City), John Stones (Manchester City), Harry Maguire (Leicester City), Danny Rose (Tottenham), Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool), Ashley Young (Manchester United), Gary Cahill (Chelsea), Phil Jones (Manchester United), Kieran Tripp
- Midfielders: Jordan Henderson (Liverpool), Eric Dier (Tottenham), Dele Alli (Tottenham), Jesse Lingard (Manchester United), Raheem Sterling (Manchester City), Ruben Loftus-Cheek (Crystal Palace), Fabian Delph (Manchester City)
- Forwards: Harry Kane (Tottenham), Jamie Vardy (Leicester City), Marcus Rashford (Manchester United), Danny Welbeck (Arsenal)
Recent results:
- Tunisia 1 – 2 England
18/06/2018
FIFA World Cup, played in Russia - England 2 – 0 Costa Rica
07/06/2018
Friendly, played in England - England 2 – 1 Nigeria
02/06/2018
Friendly, played in England - England 1 – 1 Italy
27/03/2018
Friendly, played in England - Netherlands 0 – 1 England
23/03/2018
Friendly, played in Netherlands - England 0 – 0 Brazil
14/11/2017
Friendly, played in England - England 0 – 0 Germany
10/11/2017
Friendly, played in England - Lithuania 0 – 1 England
08/10/2017
WC qualifiers, played in Lithuania - England 1 – 0 Slovenia
05/10/2017
WC qualifiers, played in England - England 2 – 1 Slovakia
04/09/2017
WC qualifiers, played in England - Malta 0 – 4 England
01/09/2017
WC qualifiers, played in Malta - France 3 – 2 England
13/06/2017
Friendly, played in France
Statistics: (last four years):
- H2H Record: 30-11-5
- O/U record
- O/U 0.5 record: 40-6
- O/U 1.5 record: 32-14
- O/U 2.5 record: 21-25
- O/U 3.5 record: 11-35
- O/U 4.5 record: 5-41
- O/U 5.5 record: 1-45
- Wins
- Total wins: 30
- Won by 1 goal: 15
- Won by 2 goals: 9
- Won by 3 goals: 2
- Won by 4 goals: 2
- Won by 5 goals: 1
- Won by 5+ goals: 1
- Won to nil 20
- Losses
- Total losses: 5
- Lost by 1 goal: 4
- Lost by 2 goals: 1
- Lost by 3 goals: 0
- Lost by 4 goals: 0
- Lost by 5 goals: 0
- Lost by 5+ goals: 0
- Lost to nil 2
- Clean Sheets and BTTS
- Total Games: 46
- Clean Sheets: 26
- Held Scoreless: 8
- Both Teams Scored: 18
Panama
- FIFA World Rank: 55
- Elo Rating: 48
- Qualifying: Third place in the CONCACAF Fifth Round with a 3-4-3 record.
Squad:
- Coach: Hernán Darío Gómez (Colombia)
- Goalkeepers: Jamie Penedo (Diname Bucharest), Jose Calderon (Chorrillo FC), Alex Rodriguez (San Francisco FC)
- Defenders: Harold Cummings (San Jose Earthquakes), Fidel Escobar (New York Red Bulls), Eric Davis (DAC Dunajska Streda), Felipe Baloy (CSD Munbicipal), Adolfo Machado (Houston Dynamo), Michael Murillo (New York Red Bulls), Luis Ovalle (Olimpia), Roman Torres (Seattl
- Midfielders: Edgar Barcenas (Cafetaleros de Tapachula), Armando Cooper (Universidad de Chile), Anibal Godoy (San Jose Earthquakes), Gabriel Gomez (Atletico Bucaramanga), Valentin Pimentel (Plaza Amador), Alberto Quintero (Universitario), Jose Luis Rodriguez (Ghent)
- Forwards: Abdiel Arroyo (Alajuelense), Ismael Diaz (Deportivo La Coruna), Blas Pérez (Municipal), Luis Tejada (Sport Boys), Gabriel Torres (Huachipato)
Recent results:
- Belgium 3 – 0 Panama
18/06/2018
FIFA World Cup, played in Russia - Norway 1 – 0 Panama
06/06/2018
Friendly, played in Norway - Panama 0 – 0 Northern Ireland
29/05/2018
Friendly, played in Panama - Trinidad and Tobago 0 – 1 Panama
18/04/2018
Friendly, played in Trinidad and Tobago - Switzerland 6 – 0 Panama
27/03/2018
Friendly, played in Switzerland - Denmark 1 – 0 Panama
22/03/2018
Friendly, played in Denmark - Wales 1 – 1 Panama
14/11/2017
Friendly, played in Wales - Iran 2 – 1 Panama
09/11/2017
Friendly, played in Austria - Grenada 0 – 5 Panama
24/10/2017
Friendly, played in Grenada - Panama 2 – 1 Costa Rica
10/10/2017
WC qualifiers, played in Panama - USA 4 – 0 Panama
06/10/2017
WC qualifiers, played in USA - Panama 3 – 0 Trinidad and Tobago
05/09/2017
WC qualifiers, played in Panama
Statistics: (last four years):
- H2H Record: 15-17-17
- O/U record
- O/U 0.5 record: 44-5
- O/U 1.5 record: 32-17
- O/U 2.5 record: 19-30
- O/U 3.5 record: 10-39
- O/U 4.5 record: 4-45
- O/U 5.5 record: 2-47
- Wins
- Total wins: 15
- Won by 1 goal: 9
- Won by 2 goals: 2
- Won by 3 goals: 2
- Won by 4 goals: 1
- Won by 5 goals: 1
- Won by 5+ goals: 0
- Won to nil 11
- Losses
- Total losses: 17
- Lost by 1 goal: 9
- Lost by 2 goals: 3
- Lost by 3 goals: 1
- Lost by 4 goals: 2
- Lost by 5 goals: 1
- Lost by 5+ goals: 1
- Lost to nil 13
- Clean Sheets and BTTS
- Total Games: 49
- Clean Sheets: 16
- Held Scoreless: 18
- Both Teams Scored: 20
Commentary
England started their campaign positively with a 2-1 victory over Tunisia. It took a stoppage-time goal from Harry Kane to seal the win, but Tunisia were fortunate to receive a penalty while England had at least two genuine penalty appeals waived down and not referred to VAR. Tunisia’s only shot on target during that match was their penalty, so the win did reflect England’s superiority. It was the first time that England had scored more than once in a World Cup in 10 matches. Harry Kane’s two goals extends his fine run of 10 goals in 8 games for England since 2017. This is in addition to 41 goals in 48 appearances for Tottenham this season. It will be interesting to see whether Gareth Southgate makes changes to the line-up. Raheem Sterling in particular had a poor game against Tunisia. During the week England assistant manager Steve Holland was photographed holding training notes that indicated that striker Marcus Rashford could be in line to start alongside captain Harry Kane. Midfielder Dele Alli is in doubt due to a thigh injury so Ruben Loftus-Cheek might start.
Panama lost the opening fixture of their first ever World Cup campaign 3-0 to Belgium. They managed to hold out the Belgians in the first half but ran out of resistance in the second spell. Offensively offered very little in reply. Panama do boast an experienced squad, however, and they can play the role of the underdog against a side that is heavily expected to beat them. In team news, Panama have no new injury concerns.
Betting
bet365 odds (subject to change):
Compare the latest bookmaker odds for England vs. Panama
It’s hard not to side with England here. They should win to nil. England have gone 8-3-0 in their last 11 fixtures with 7 of those opponents, including the Netherlands, Brazil and Germany, held scoreless. Tunisia’s dubious penalty was their only shot on target against England while Panama failed to record a single shot on target against Belgium. Over the last four years, 20 of England’s 30 wins were to nil while 13 of Panama’s 17 defeats were to nil. Panama have only scored 1 goal in their last 6 fixtures and they lost 4 of them to nil.
Betting tip: back England to win to nil at 1.60 (Ladbrokes, William Hill). Those who want cover in the event of a 0-0 draw can instead opt for No in the both teams to score market at 1.40 (Sportsbet). Those who want more risk can opt for England to win 1-0 at 6.20 (Betfair).
Notes
- FIFA World rankings are from the 7th of June and sourced from https://www.fifa.com/fifa-world-ranking/ranking-table/men/index.html
- The World Football Elo Ratings are from the 11th of June and are based on the Elo rating system, developed by Dr. Arpad Elo. This system is used by the international chess federation to rate chess players and is considered by many to be a superior rating tool to the one used by FIFA. The ratings have been sourced from https://www.eloratings.net/.
- Squad lists sourced from http://www.skysports.com/football/news/12098/11374464/every-world-cup-squad-listed-argentina-brazil-russia-and-more