Shearer blasts – Alan Shearer says Marcus Rashford and Bukayo Saka didn’t do “enough” as England needed Jude Bellingham and Harry Kane to beat Panama and secure top spot in their World Cup group, with Thomas Tuchel visibly frustrated at how hard it was to break down low blocks
England’s fans had barely settled in at MetLife Stadium when the message was already clear: this was going to be harder than it should be.
Jude Bellingham and Harry Kane delivered the breakthrough late on as England finally beat Panama to secure top spot in their World Cup group. but the early picture was uncomfortable. Thomas Tuchel cut a frustrated figure on the touchline at times. barking orders at Kane after just three minutes and focusing his attention on Marcus Rashford and Bukayo Saka during the first hydration break.
Alan Shearer, watching with the same impatience many at home felt, was left equally irked by two of the changes Tuchel made after the goalless draw with Ghana. Shearer said he could see the issue clearly even without looking for numbers.
“I haven’t seen the stats but I can see it with my eyes that Rashford and Saka have been involved in a lot of what England have done but they haven’t done enough with it,” he said on BBC Radio 5 Live.
The criticism landed on more than just output—it was about impact. Shearer pointed to how England started with purpose and then failed to keep that momentum.
“It’s been really disappointing from the first 10 minutes when we moved the ball with purpose and I expected us to carry that on, but that hasn’t been the case.”
England had already shown they could move through a match when they struck well in the opening 4-2 win over Croatia. but the pattern from earlier in the group phase resurfaced. Against Ghana, they ran into a low block and struggled to find ideas, especially from wide areas. That frustration returned at speed in the first half versus Panama. and it was the wide players again that drew the strongest reactions.
Gary Neville said on ITV Sport: “We lack subtlety, creativity and innovation. The players in wide areas, the final part of their game has been really poor.”
Roy Keane added: “England seem to have been dragged down to their level. Their top players haven’t turned up.”
Tuchel’s choices and his in-match mood told their own story. After the goalless draw with Ghana. England adjusted their starting line-up. but the first-half struggle to break Panama down left Tuchel with work to do—work that continued to show in his visible frustration. Neville even suggested the problem might require a different kind of solution. arguing England could need more direct change rather than more passing.
“He may have to bring on two strikers and do something different,” Neville said.
For all the noise around wide areas. the match’s turning point came from the players who actually forced the game to open. Bellingham scored and also provided an assist, with his goal and assist proving decisive. The impact felt immediate, too: the performance secured his third man-of-the-match award in as many games.
“There is more to build on,” Tuchel said. “You have to get so many details right and it’s an aggressive approach we take.”
With the group phase over, Tuchel tried to shift focus from frustration to repair. “The tournament starts again now, it’s knockouts. Now we collect our strengths, collect our energy, build on what we have, the team spirit, the fighting spirit, the belief, and we will step up.”
England now go into the knockout stages on what they will see as the safer side of the draw, having avoided France, Germany, Netherlands and Spain. Their next match is set to be in New Jersey on July 19, with the World Cup final also planned there.
But the questions raised by Panama—particularly around whether England’s top names can consistently take control of wide areas—won’t disappear just because the result finally came. This was a victory that secured top spot. It was also a reminder that the margin between dominance and struggle can be decided long before the late goals arrive.
England Panama World Cup Alan Shearer Marcus Rashford Bukayo Saka Thomas Tuchel Jude Bellingham Harry Kane Gary Neville Roy Keane MetLife Stadium group stage knockout draw