Kane praises team-mates for England 6-1 win against Panama

Harry Kane praised his team-mates for the professional manner in which they dealt with Panama as they cruised to a 6-1 victory to qualify for the last 16.Gareth Southgate’s side are level on points with Belgium who they play on Thursday.

Kane scored a hat-trick, including two penalties, as England joined Belgium on six points from two games to ensure both countries advanced from Group G.

John Stones scored twice while Jesse Lingard also got on the scoresheet along with Kane, who joins Geoff Hurst and Gary Lineker as hat-trick heroes for England in World Cup finals.

Kane was delighted with the way his side advanced from the group with a game to spare and was happy to see the work they have done on set-pieces pay off against Panama.

“I’m so, so proud of the boys, we’re just enjoying it, just enjoying being here,” Kane told the BBC.

“We knew it was going to be tough and they started pretty well but we’ve been working on our set-pieces, we’ve been working on the way we want to play and it’s all coming together.

“It’s a brilliant result, fantastic to be through and to do it in this way is brilliant.”

It was a game England were expected to win, but to do so in such an emphatic manner will surely increase expectation levels for the rest of the tournament.

Kane is happy for supporters to dream of success on the world stage but he knows there is a long way to go if he is to lift the trophy on July 15.