Panama v England: Head to O'Reilly in 9/1 Bet Builder

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England looking to respond

Thomas Tuchel has had a quick lesson in expectations around England in tournament football: mixed hopes in the build-up, a rush of excitement and talk of "it's coming home" after a convincing opening win and then suddenly a massive reality check.

And so it's played out via a 4-2 opening win over main group rivals Croatia followed by a stodgy 0-0 draw with Ghana where the Three Lions had 79% possession but very few ideas of what do with it.

Still, it's all relative and by this stage in 2014 England were already out. That's the fate suffered by Panama after a pair of defeats, although their performances in those 1-0 losses to Ghana and Croatia weren't without merit.

Those results look much better than their 2018 World Cup campaign when England were again in opposition. At that tournament in Russia, Panama lost their opener 3-0 to Belgium before being thrashed 6-1 by England. Despite taking the lead they also lost their final game, 2-1 to Tunisia.

Three Lions have clear incentive

The negative spin on England is that they've managed just one decent half of football in their two matches so far. The first 45 against Croatia wasn't great and the entire 90 minutes of the Ghana game felt lacklustre.

The positives are that England have already beaten their main group rivals and now face a side already going home. And with Tuchel's men only top on goal difference, they have a clear incentive here: win the game, secure top spot and set up a last-32 tie with a third-placed team.

It even helps that Ghana could overtake them on goal difference. Currently, England's is +2 to Ghana's +1 so the simple solution here is winning with something in hand to absolutely make sure.

England massive favourites again

A repeat of that 6-1 win from 2018 is 40/141.00 for any super-optimistic England fan.

Harry Kane scored a hat-trick in that game eight years ago and he's been boosted to 10/111.00 from 7s to rack up another treble.

Cutting to the more basic odds, England are just 2/131.15 to get the win while The Draw is 7/18.00 (it was 11/26.50 v Ghana). Panama to pull off an almighty shock is 17/118.00.

England conceded twice against Croatia and Ghana had a couple of moments but that 0-0 draw on Wednesday represented a 13th clean sheet in 16 matches for Tuchel as England boss.

Panama have fired blanks so far and the 5/61.84 for England To Win to Nil is the opening bet.

When are England's Group L Games?

See below for the dates and times of Englands matches in the group stage of the tournament:

Head for O'Reilly

Panama coach Thomas Christiansen will have noted the success of Ghana's low block so expect similar tactics here.

That suggests backing selected England players to rack up shot after shot on target may not be a smart move. After all, Croatia managed just two shots on target in that 1-0 win.

But there are filters we can apply and the one that has appeal is Nico O'Reilly To Have 1 Or More Headed Shots On Target at 11/43.75.

The roving defender almost scored with a header against Croatia and then nutted a cross against the bar against Ghana, the closest England came to breaking the deadlock.

And, of course, Manchester City fans won't forget March's Carabao Cup final when O'Reilly's two headers secured a 2-0 win for Pep Guardiola's men over Arsenal.

Oh, and if you like a good omen, O'Reilly's now former ex-teammate, John Stones, twice netted with headers in England's 6-1 victory over Panama in Russia.

Harvey to feature in Bet Builder

Carlos Harvey could be in for a busy day in the centre of the Panama midfield.

He's the one who has to carry out defensive duties and that's already resulted in a series of fouls and a yellow card against Croatia.

The man who plays his club football in the USA for Minnesota United will find this a step up in terms of technical ability and is worth a punt at 11/43.75 to be booked again.

Panama are already out so there's no fear of being banned for the next game and he's played the full 90 in both group matches so far. I'll combine that with two other elements in a Bet Builder.

First, England to be leading at 30 minutes which is 5/61.84 as a single. The heat is on after the Ghana disappointment and they should come out with much more intent.

Second, it's back to that man O'Reilly who is 4/91.44 To Be Fouled 1 Or More Times. As mentioned, he's a mobile left-back so is likely to attract attention as he surges forward.

Notable winners on Betting.Betfair so far at the 2026 World Cup...

- Mark Stinchcombe's stunning 38/139.00 Bet Builder in South Korea v Czechia
- Paul Higham's 9/25.50 Bet Builder in Mexico's MD1 defeat of South Africa
- Paul also tipped 13/53.60 (Canada v Bosnia) & 15/82.88 (Brazil v Morocco) draws
- A 6/17.00 winning ACCA for Mark on Sunday at the World Cup
- Andy Robson's 9/110.00 five-leg ACCA as Germany wallop Curacao
- A 13/53.60 winner for Paul as France beat Senegal with both teams scoring
- Paul's at it again, an 11/43.75 winning Best Bet in Switzerland v Bosnia
- An 11/26.50 winner for Jimmy The Punt as Jonathan David scores 2+ goals
- Paul's 2/13.00 headline tip in Germany v Ivory Coast was a winner
- Jack Critchley delivered a 5/16.00 goalscorer treble on day 13

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