What England can expect from Panama... one or two bruises for a start

Panama are nothing if not physical, although it should probably be pointed out that the worst tackle in their 3-0 defeat to Belgium was actually made by Kevin De Bruyne two minutes from time, for which the Manchester City midfielder was booked.

Roberto Martinez, the Belgium coach, was distinctly unhappy afterwards with the treatment Eden Hazard got and goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois talked about a need for referees to clamp down on the “cheap and unnecessary tackles” he felt Panama administered.

The Panama defenders, Roman Torres and Michael Murillo, both received yellow cards for strong challenges on Hazard. But was this really that different from what the Chelsea forward gets in the Premier League most weeks?

Most of the bookings Panama racked up - five inside an hour, the most by a team in a single game at a World Cup since Holland hacked lumps out of Spain in the 2010 final - were a consequence of clumsiness and difficulties dealing with the speed of their opponents than anything more sinister. Belgium only committed one tackle fewer than Panama’s 18.

“I don’t know what people are complaining about,” Roman Torres, the Panama centre-half, said. “Football is like that - you always have to impose yourself, you have to mark out your territory.”

A lot of huff and puff... but a lack of mobility

The spine of Panama’s team is ageing. Goalkeeper Jaime Penedo is 36, captain Torres 32, midfield sentry Gabriel Gomez 34 and, up front, Blas Perez is the oldest of the lot at 37. There was certainly a chronic lack of pace and mobility in the Panama ranks against Belgium but they strive to make up for that with a strong work ethic and upbeat attitude.

The surprise in the first half, before Belgium’s superior quality told in the second, was the difficulty Martinez’s men had creating a numerical advantage in midfield, which led to a lot of long balls being pumped from defence and Hazard having to go it alone at times. If England can create overloads, Panama will be in trouble.

No shortage of confidence but a lack of ideas going forward

Panama may be one of the weakest teams in the tournament but their pride at reaching a first World Cup shines through and there is no shortage of confidence that they can beat or at least frustrate England.

There is a clear belief in their ranks that Belgium would provide their stiffest test in Group G so England are likely to encounter opponents determined to cause an upset. Gareth Southgate’s side must show that confidence is misplaced.  

“For me, Belgium are a more difficult opponent than England,” midfielder Jose Luis Rodriguez said. That belief was echoed by the Panama president, who is in regular conversation with the squad and coach Hernan Gomez. “We feel the hard game was today’s,” Juan Carlos Varela said of the Belgium match as he looked ahead to England.

That is all very well but Panama would have to show a lot more wit and imagination once they cross their own half-way line than they managed against Belgium. The one time they did get in behind Belgium, Courtois was off his line quick to deny Murillo.

It was not as if Panama ventured forward enough to pose a threat from set pieces either. They had three corners in total against Belgium and no direct or indirect free-kicks near goal.

A susceptibility on the counter-attack

Whoever Southgate decides to pick, it is imperative England’s attack is flush with pace. Whether it is Raheem Sterling, Marcus Rashford or Jamie Vardy supplementing Harry Kane, or perhaps two of them, Panama are susceptible to pace on the break and England should have plenty of joy if they can get in behind their opponents.

For a team that defend in numbers, Panama still left a lot of space for Belgium to exploit. They also tired visibly in the final half an hour so, if things are not going to plan for Southgate, as they were not for Martinez for a good while, the likelihood is space will eventually start to open up.

Belgium’s third goal on the counter had begun with De Bruyne intercepting deep in Belgium territory but Panama were unable to deal with the speed with which Belgium then went through the gears.

A robust centre-half pairing

Torres plays his football with the Seattle Sounders in the MLS and Fidel Escobar also plies his trade in the US with New York Red Bulls. Neither are going to challenge the best central-defensive pairings at this tournament but they impressed in the first half against Belgium especially and coped well, at that stage, with what Romelu Lukaku had to offer.

Torres made a crucial clearance from a dangerous De Bruyne cross and Escobar cut a fairly composed figure for a 23 year-old playing on the biggest stage of his life. Kane should still fancy his chances, though.