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England finished with seven points, ahead of Croatia on six, after its 2-1 win against Ghana, which ended on four. Panama lost all three matches and finished bottom. England will play one of the eightbest third-placed teams in the Round of 32.

After a flat first half and a frustrating hour in which England dominated possession without cutting Panama open, Bellingham finally forced the breakthrough in the 62nd minute.

Bukayo Saka's corner from the left dropped into a crowded box, where Bellingham, despite being held by a defender, wrestled enough space to stab a left-footed finish past goalkeeper Orlando Mosquera.

Five minutes later, Bellingham took charge again on the left and clipped in a cross for Kane, who rose above his marker to head home.

It was Kane's 11th FIFA World Cup goal for England, moving him past Gary Lineker's mark of 10 and making him the country's all-time leading scorer at FIFA World Cups.

The goal transformed the mood at New York New Jersey Stadium, where anxious England supporters, who had spent much of the afternoon biting their nails, were soon singing along to Bon Jovi during the hydration break.

"A solid performance again, against a side with fast, tricky players," Kane said at full-time.

"They had little moments but overall we controlled it pretty well. First half maybe a little bit sloppy in the final third, got better in the second half. Would have liked to see out the game a little bit easier.

"Overall just a good win. Another proud one [goalscoring record] to reach, let's hope it's not the last instalment."

Tuchel had made five changes from the side held 0-0 by Ghana. Reece James missed out with a hamstring problem, with Jarell Quansah starting at right back, while Nico O'Reilly returned at left back.

Declan Rice was rested and Morgan Rogers came into a more attack-minded midfield. Saka and Marcus Rashford replaced Noni Madueke and Anthony Gordon in the wide roles.

Rashford had England's first clear opening in the seventh minute, driving a low shot from the edge of the box that forced Mosquera into a fine save.

Much of England's early work came through Rashford and Bellingham on the left, but Panama remained dangerous on the break and Jordan Pickford had to save well from Jose Rodriguez in the 26th minute.

England became increasingly predictable. Rashford saw plenty of the ball but often held it too long, while Saka was isolated on the right and quickly surrounded whenever he tried to drive forward.

Rashford headed wide from close range in the 37th minute and Elliot Anderson tested Mosquera from distance. Rashford then curled a free-kick narrowly wide before half-time.

Tuchel made no changes at the interval and England continued to labour. Kane failed to control a ball from close range in the 51st minute after Panama almost turned it into their own net, before Mosquera parried another Kane effort six minutes later.

But Bellingham's intervention changed everything, giving England a victory built more on persistence than fluency and sending it through as the group's winner.

There was still time late on for Jordan Henderson to come on and become the first England player to play at four FIFA World Cups.

"We did what was needed," Tuchel said after the match.

"It was what we expected: a tough match against a physical opponent. They are a difficult team to score against and we were the only team to create this amount of chances and score twice.

"The tournament starts again now in the knockouts. Now we collect our strengths and energy and build on what we have – we have the team spirit, fighting and belief. We will step up. The bigger the games get, the bigger we will get.

"Three days, then the next match in four days. It's not a problem, we love that and are good at that."

England has an injury concern over right back Jarell Quansah before its next match in Atlanta.

"Classic ankle twist," Tuchel said. "He's had it before, a matter of days, painful, he has his leg up high, ice. It will be a very tight race."

With Quansah called in to replace the injured Reece James at right back, it could prove to be a problem position for Tuchel and England moving forward.