England guaranteed to progress to World Cup knock-out rounds

England’s place in the knock-out rounds of the World Cup has been secured ahead of their final Group L game against Panama.Results on Friday night, where Uruguay were beaten by Spain, meant that Thomas Tuchel’s men are assured a place in the last 32 whatever happens against the Central Americans at the MetLife Stadium on Saturday.England are guaranteed to be one of the top eight third-placed finishers, meaning they will progress even if things go badly wrong against Panama.

But Tuchel will have much stronger ambitions and they will finish top of the group if they can match Ghana’s result against Croatia.That would guarantee them a last-32 tie in Atlanta against third-placed team on Wednesday, currently likely to be Senegal or DR Congo, though that could change depending on other results.