England guaranteed to progress to World Cup knockout stage

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Spain's 1-0 win over Uruguay on Friday night means England are guaranteed a place in the last 32 regardless of the result against Panama this weekend.

The Three Lions sit on four points after two games - meaning they would take one of the eight third-placed qualification spots.

Four other teams - Sweden, Ecuador, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Paraguay - sit on four points.

There are still three groups left in the World Cup with games still to play - Group J, K and L.

England are set to meet with Panama at the MetLife Stadium in New Jersey on Saturday night.

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But Tuchel will have much stronger ambitions than qualifying in a third-place spot, and they will finish top of the group if they can match Ghana’s result against Croatia.

Should they manage to come out on top, it would guarantee them a match-up in Atlanta against a third-placed team on Wednesday, currently likely to be Senegal or DR Congo - although upcoming results could change that.

England made a winning start to the tournament by beating Croatia 4-2, but were held to a goalless draw against Ghana on Tuesday.

A win against Panema would see the Three Lions qualify top of group L.

Thomas Tuchel has already confirmed Reece James, 26, will miss the final group fixture due to injury, after suffering a hamstring issue against Ghana.

Declan Rice, who left Boston Stadium on Tuesday with strapping on his left calf, was seen sitting out of Thursday's training session at England's Kansas City training base, raising questions over his inclusion in the upcoming match.