NEW JERSEY, United States, June 27 (Xinhua) -- England will improve as the World Cup enters the knockout stage, manager Thomas Tuchel said after his side topped Group L with a 2-0 win over Panama on Saturday.
Jude Bellingham opened the scoring with a close-range volley before providing the cross for Harry Kane to head in his 11th World Cup goal, breaking the record he shared with Gary Lineker.
"The tournament starts again now with the knockouts," Tuchel told a post-match news conference. "We collect our strengths and our energy and we build on what we have. We will step up. The bigger the games, the better we'll get."
Despite being eliminated after three losses from as many games, Panama proved to be a difficult opponent for England.
The Central American side had some of the best early chances and posed a constant threat on the counterattack.
Tuchel said he was pleased with his team's persistence in wearing down Panama's solid defensive block.
"We did what we needed," he said. "It was as we expected against a difficult opponent. We were the only team to create this amount of chances against Panama."
The German also praised Bellingham and highlighted his team's ability to execute its attacking game plan.
"Everyone did what we needed to do and Jude was a big part of that," he said. "There's more to build on and you have to get so many details right with the aggressive approach we take." ■
