World Cup preview: England v Panama, Japan v Senegal, Poland v Colombia
By Duncan Ferris
Date: Saturday 23 Jun 2018
(Sharecast News) - England are back in action on Sunday, facing off against shock Central American qualifiers Panama who looked off the pace in their opening 3-0 loss to Belgium
England couldn't mess this up, could they?
1300 BST England v Panama () (Group G)
1600 BST Japan v Senegal () (Group H)
1900 BST Poland v Colombia () (Group H)
The Three Lions line-up will likely see Ruben Loftus-Cheek replace midfielder Dele Alli, who suffered a thigh injury in the opening match, and Raheem Sterling dropped in favour of Marcus Rashford after the Manchester City star failed once again to live up to expectations on the international stage.
These hints on the side's starting 11 were leaked accidentally by assistant manager Steve Holland who's training notes were photographed by journalists at England's training ground.
Debutants Panama should not be a particularly stern test for Gareth Southgate's side as they lack significant top-level experience and having rarely threatened to score in their opening match against Belgium.
Japan and Senegal both impressed in their opening matches, picking up surprise wins against Colombia and Poland respectively.
Japan displayed smooth attacking football, with the introduction of legendary midfield Keisuke Honda in the second half adding a drive and creativity to their play that they will want to continue against Senegal.
Senegal are the first African side to secure a victory in this World Cup after M'Baye Niang scored a controversial winning goal having just rejoined play after an injury.
The Lions of Teranga played some excellent attacking football against a much-fancied Poland side but will want star player Sadio Mane to pose more of a threat after a quiet opening match.
Similarly, Poland will want more involvement from Bayern Munich striker Robert Lewandowski in their match against Colombia after the top scorer in European qualifying put in a largely anonymous performance against Senegal.
Colombia may simply need to focus on keeping 11 men on the pitch.
Midfielder Carlos Sanchez, formerly of Aston Villa, earned the second fastest red card in World Cup history after just two minutes 56 seconds, after handballing a goal-bound shot.
As a result, the South Americans were hampered by a numerical disadvantage and struggled to bring talented attackers such as James Rodriguez and Radamel Falcao into the match.
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