Thomas Tuchel unconcerned by lacklustre Panama win as England secure top spot in Group L

Jude Bellingham and Harry Kane scored the goals at the MetLife Stadium to secure first place in Group L.

The result saw the Three Lions secure a last 32 clash with the Democratic Republic of Congo in Atlanta on Wednesday.

Tuchel's charges kicked off their World Cup campaign with a convincing 4-2 victory over Croatia before a goalless draw with Ghana.

England were never in trouble of losing to Panama but will need to raise their game if they are to go further in the competition.

Relfecting on the game, the German mentos said on BBC: "It was what we expected: a tough match against a physical opponent.

"They are a difficult team to score against and we were the only team to create this amount of chances and score twice," Tuchel added, before confidently predicting England would improve during the knockout phase.

"We will step up," Tuchel said. "The bigger the games get, the bigger we will get."

DR Congo secured their knockout place with a 3-1 win over Uzbekistan.

Tuchel is, meanwhile, sweating over his right-back slot with injuries to both Reece James and Jarell Quansah.

Quansah started in place of James against Panama but limped off in the second half.

On the player's injury, Tuchel added: "A classic ankle twist and he is in pain. He said he had it before and it is a matter of days. He has his leg up high and in ice.

"Naturally of course [I am worried about the right-back situation] - we have another injury in the position.

"It will be a tight race for Reece James and a tight race for Jarell Quansah but it is our job to find solutions and we will do."

READ MORE: Messi magic off the bench as Argentina cruise into knockouts with perfect record