Gareth Southgate claims his England side are starting to believe they are World Cup contenders

Gareth Southgate is convinced his players are starting to believe they are genuine World Cup contenders following Sunday’s demolition of Panama.

England were scintillating as they smashed six past the Central Americans to guarantee their place in the last-16 courtesy of Harry Kane’s hat-trick, a double from John Stones and a wonder-goal from Jesse Lingard.

Following on from last week’s slender win over Tunisia, the powerful nature of Sunday’s victory will fire a chilling message to England’s rivals here in Russia.

Gareth Southgate admits his side are growing in confidence after 6-1 Panama rout

The fact they stood up to some brutal treatment from Panama during the course of the game was equally as impressive.

And Southgate insists his in-form team are growing in stature.

‘I think the players will have gained confidence from not only their own performances but watching the other games,’ said the England manager.

‘They can see they’re doing a lot of things right. Everyone will talk about Germany and Brazil scoring in the last minute, but we did that (against Tunisia).

‘We had 85 percent possession in the last 10 minutes of the game against Tunisia. They’re seeing the rewards from the work we’re doing.

England boss Southgate suggested his side have been as good as Brazil and Germany so far

England boss Southgate suggested his side have been as good as Brazil and Germany so far

‘They know how together they are. They have a really strong spirit. That will only grow by winning matches.

‘There is pressure around the World Cup and the players have dealt with that really well to this point. We go again tomorrow.

‘It’s lovely we could give people watching at home goals to celebrate. I think they can see what we’re trying to do and the way we’re trying to play, and enjoying our football. ‘

Yet, it underlines Southgate’s rising levels of assurance that he still managed to pick holes in his team’s performance.

Southgate's disappointment to concede late on shows his commitment to improving side

Southgate’s disappointment to concede late on shows his commitment to improving side

He said: ‘I’m really pleased with the way we were ruthless for half an hour or so but I didn’t particularly like the first 10 minutes. We were little bit edgy. We played better the other night at times than we did today.

‘The only downside was the goal at the end. We wanted to control the group with our goal difference, and we’ve missed out on that opportunity.

‘It’s strange because I enjoyed the win against Tunisia more because of the tension in it and the fact you get over the line when you’re really under pressure is very special.

‘For me, just before half-time, the game was done today.

‘So it was a very strange feeling watching the second half, encouraging the boys to stay professional and continue being so ruthless.

On Panama’s aggressive tactics, Southgate added: ‘We talked about that being something we’d have to be aware of during the game, the important of keeping our own discipline.

‘We’d have had a problem had we gone down to 10 men. There were some extreme moments before half-time.

‘In this heat, it would have been easy for the players to lose control. They didn’t.’

Harry Kane scored a hat-trick and Southgate claims he 'wouldn't swap him for anybody'

Harry Kane scored a hat-trick and Southgate claims he ‘wouldn’t swap him for anybody’

Kane fired his way to the front of the race for the Golden Boot, ahead of Cristiano Ronaldo and Romelu Lukaku, taking his tally to five.

And Southgate is adamant he wouldn’t swap his captain for anyone else.

‘He’s started brilliantly. The penalties, you can dismiss penalties to be easy, but the length of times he had to wait, and the number of distractions which made him refocus and start again, that tells you about the mental toughness he has got.

‘He’s up at the top. We wouldn’t swap him for anyone in the tournament in terms of No 9s.’

Kane himself added: ‘For sure (it’s a special ball), one to be proud of. Not many players score a hat-trick in the World Cup, so I’m extremely proud of that.’

Southgate now turns his attentions to Thursday’s final group game against Belgium in Kaliningrad.

There was an injury concern for Kieran Trippier who may miss Belgium game with thigh issue

There was an injury concern for Kieran Trippier who may miss Belgium game with thigh issue

With passage into the knockout stages secure, Southgate admits he is tempted by resting players against Roberto Martinez’s men.

But the England boss is also determined not to disrupt his side’s momentum following their excellent start to the World Cup.

The England manager allayed fears over a possible thigh injury to Kieran Trippier after his right leg was heavily strapped following his substitution and revealed Dele Alli is making good progress from a similar problem.

Nevertheless, neither is likely to be risked against the Belgians in three days as Southgate plots changes to his starting XI.

‘We would want to keep momentum and keep progressing as a team,’ Southgate added.

‘It’s nice it’s a game where we’re not up to our neck in pressure. We have some decisions to make because the harmony of the group is important to me.

England boss revealed he is likely to make changes vs Belgium to maintain 'squad harmony'

England boss revealed he is likely to make changes vs Belgium to maintain ‘squad harmony’

‘But some have been a couple of weeks without a match, and we’re going to need more people as we get further into the tournament.

‘But we want to keep playing well and keep the consistency in our play.

‘I think that’s what we’ve got to do over the next 36 hours or so, to decide what our priority is. For me, the harmony of the group is high on that list.

‘At this moment my thoughts are with the players who haven’t played as much, but I have to consider everything before I decide upon my team.

‘We have to make the players who haven’t played matches feel valued.’



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