Darren Bent lavishes praise on England after 6-1 thumping of Panama

Darren Bent has insisted that England's demolition of Panama on Sunday highlights a positive step forward for Gareth Southgate's side.

The Three Lions beat their Group G opponents 6-1 at the Nizhny Novgorod Stadium, securing their place in the knockout stages of the tournament.

The victory marks England's biggest ever win at the World Cup finals, and Bent was full of praise for his country on the day.

"They were clinical, they were ruthless in the first half, with their decision making, their creativity - everything went in," Bent admitted.

"Especially after the performance in the first half against Tunisia, where they should have had a few more but they didn't, today they made no mistake.

"The goal will niggle at the manager. He will still be looking at one or two things we have to improve on and one of them will be set-plays, where the goal came from. About 15 minutes before then, Panama had their best chance of the game, when a guy was at the back stick from another set-play, and that is the one area England need to improve."

England will play Belgium in their final group-stage fixture on Thursday, with both sides on maximum points after their opening two games.

Written by
Matthew Jones