Harry Kane netted a hat-trick as England thrashed Panama 6-1 in an emphatic victory in World Cup Group G at Nizhny Novgorod Stadium.

Gareth Southgate's side scored five times in an astonishing first-half display with Panama simply unable to compete.

Jon Stones earned his first international goal after heading home Kieran Trippier’s early corner. The first English Manchester City player to score at a World Cup since Trevor Francis in 1982 was virtually unmarked. England then earned their first penalty of the day when Roman Torres and Fidel Escobar combined to clumsily bring down Jesse Lingard. Kane made no mistake from the spot.

Harry Kane as justification for the spot kick.

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Kane knew little about his hat-trick goal—Ruben Loftus-Cheek’s low drive from outside the box deflected off of the Tottenham striker’s heel. Nevertheless, it put him int he lead in the World Cup Golden Boot race with five goals.

The result puts Belgium and England through to the knockout rounds on identical records (points, goal difference and goals scored). The winner of the group, therefore, will be settled when they face each other in Kaliningrad on Thursday.

Should England actually strive to finish top of the group? - Topping the group is often seen as a boon, but perhaps not in this case. The top finisher in Group G will be more likely to face either Germany or Brazil in the quarterfinals. The second-placed team would be more likely to face Mexico or Switzerland at that stage