Declan Rice picked up a yellow card for England against Ghana last time out, which was mainly born out of frustration as the Three Lions struggled to break down a fierce low block put together by Carlos Queiroz.

I can see this being a similar sort of game. Panama may have lost both of their World Cup games so far, but these have only been by 1-0 margins, and they restricted Croatia pretty effectively last time out, limiting Zlatko Dalic’s side to just six shots and two shots on target.

England have committed 10+ fouls in both of their World Cup matches so far, and I envisage the caution we need here coming from a situation where England need to stop Panama breaking quickly on the counter attack. 

The referee for this game is Ibrahim Al Jassem, who has officiated one game at the World Cup so far, handing out four cards in Portugal v DR Congo, with both sides getting at least one caution. 

This is going to be a staple for many England bets during the World Cup, especially in matches like this where Tuchel’s side are clearly going to be the dominant team and look to rectify failing to get past Ghana last time out. 

England registered nine corners against Ghana, following on from their tally of eight against Croatia. This isn’t that surprising, given Tuchel’s comments about how he wants England to play; he wants his side to reflect the style and intensity of the Premier League, and set pieces are a massive part of that.

There’s also the benefit of having a player like Declan Rice in these situations. His delivery is excellent and allows England to have a real goal threat every time they are able to win a corner.

England averaged 7.50 corners per game during qualifying, and this line should be well within their reach against a Panama side that are likely to take the same approach as Ghana did against the Three Lions.

Ghana did very well to stop England finding Kane last time out, but the striker should have really scored from one of his three efforts in that clash - particularly the last effort, which blazed over the bar from close range after O’Reilly had hit the woodwork.

Kane found the target once from three shots in that 0-0 draw, but did manage three shots on target from seven efforts against Croatia, with two of these attempts ending up in the back of the net. He’s got a remarkably consistent record for England and is easily the biggest threat for the Three Lions in the final third.

Kane scored eight goals across his eight starts for England during qualifying from 16 shots on target (2.11 per 90). I don’t see him being as quiet as he was against Ghana against a Panama side that have already been eliminated after losing their opening two matches against Croatia and Ghana. 

Jose Luis Rodriguez is part of Panama’s frontline and usually lines up on the left wing. He committed two fouls against Croatia last time out, and I think he’ll have a tricky defensive assignment here with Bukayo Saka set to start for England. 

Jose Luis Rodriguez maintained an average of 0.98 fouls committed per 90 during the 25/26 season for his club side and committed six fouls across five starts during qualifying (1.08 per 90). England’s centre-back duo were fouled nine times between them against Ghana, with both wide players in Semenyo and Williams, committing at least two fouls.

Panama committed 19 fouls against Croatia last time out, with five of these fouls coming against Stansic and Gvardiol in the fullback areas. I think Jose Luis Rodriguez will have to help out his fullback here with the threat of Saka (2.18 fouls won per 90) or Madueke (1.11 fouls won per 90) likely to cause Panama problems.

England won 24 fouls against Ghana last time out, with nine of them won by Ezri Konsa and Marc Guehi. Both centre-backs have always been pretty strong when it comes to winning fouls, but the 0-0 draw against Ghana was on an extreme scale, with Guehi hauled down on seven occasions. 

I think this will be a pattern we see throughout the tournament. England find it quite easy to control games, especially against sides that will sit deep, which means that there are often scenarios where the underdogs have little choice but to hit a long ball towards their striker, which then creates opportunities for Guehi and Konsa to win fouls.

Guehi maintained an average of 1.09 fouls won per 90 across his 35 appearances in the Premier League for Crystal Palace and Manchester City during the 25/26 season - so this is already a very strong part of his game. Panama committed 11 fouls against Ghana in their opener and 19 fouls against Croatia last time out.  

Jude Bellingham scored in England’s 4-2 win over Croatia in their opening game of the tournament and was pretty fortunate to avoid a booking against Ghana last time out.

I really like backing Bellingham in this market for England, especially with the role he’s currently playing, where Kane drops a bit deeper at times, and Bellingham pushes up into a striker role, which he really likes. He enjoyed his best-ever season playing as a makeshift striker under Ancelotti, scoring 23 goals that season. 

I don’t quite subscribe to the belief that Bellingham has an ‘attitude’ problem. I think the petulant actions you see from him sometimes are normal for a player of his ability - but that doesn’t make him immune to cautions.

He picked up two cards across four starts during qualifying for England, and if Tuchel’s side are frustrated by a low block again here, Bellingham could be in line for a card.

Any midfielder lining up against England is going to have a really tough time trying to stop Jude Bellingham and Elliot Anderson without committing multiple fouls.

Both Bellingham and Anderson are very strong when it comes to winning fouls, with Anderson being hauled down on three occasions last time out. Carlos Harvey picked up a yellow card in Panama’s opener against Ghana and has committed six fouls across the two games so far. 

This makes him the perfect candidate to pick up a yellow card against an England side that are far superior in the middle of the park than Panama. Bellingham and Anderson combined to win 4.49 fouls per 90 during qualifying and boast a similar total when looking at their performances during the 25/26 campaign.

Nico O’Reilly was very unlucky not to get on the scoresheet against Panama last time out, coming on from the bench to strike the woodwork with a late header.

O’Reilly found the target in the opening game against Croatia and should have really scored with his header that was saved from a corner. He had two shots overall in that game and will be a useful asset for England as an extra body in the box here, which is a big part of why Tuchel favoured O’Reilly over the likes of Lewis Hall and Luke Shaw.

England are expected to have at least seven corners in this game, in line with their average during qualifying and corner counts at the World Cup so far, which should give O’Reilly plenty of opportunities to find the target with his strong aerial ability.