Jesse Lingard celebrates his strike for England against Panama

Lingard scores a screamer in England thrashing

Sunday 24 June 2018 14:55

Jesse Lingard netted his first-ever World Cup goal in stunning fashion as England romped to a 6-1 victory over Panama and booked their place in the last 16.

Lingard struck in the 36th minute after swapping passes with Raheem Sterling and bending home a sublime 25-yard curler for England’s third goal in a quite incredible first half in Nizhny Novgorod.
Lingard's first World Cup goal will live long in the memory.

The United attacker was in the wars at the start of the match after receiving an elbow in the face and being upended by a late tackle. But he recovered from both challenges and it was Lingard who won the penalty for Harry Kane to emphatically score England’s second goal from the spot, following John Stones’s opener.

The lads!

Lingard then struck, before Stones added a fourth from a brilliantly worked free-kick and Kane fired home another superb penalty just before the break. The England captain completed his hat-trick just after the hour-mark when Ruben Loftus-Cheek’s shot bounced off him and flew in.

What a day for England!

Next up for England is a final group game on Thursday evening against in-form Belgium, with both sides determined to finish top of Group G.