Scouting report on Panama - why England should be wary

Scouting report on Panama - why England should be waryImage source, Getty ImagesImage caption, Panama are a better side than the one that lost 6-1 against England in the 2018 World CupByUmir IrfanFootball tactics correspondentPublished2 minutes agoWith four points from two games, England will hope to seal top spot in their World Cup group with victory on Saturday against Panama. The Central American side are a relatively unknown quantity, but they are an exciting team whose results do not paint a true picture of their performances in the tournament.Against both Ghana and Croatia, there were periods of the game when Panama looked the better team. But with arguably their best player Adalberto Carrasquilla injured, they have struggled to turn their impressive play into goals.So how might Thomas Christiansen, the former Leeds United manager, set his team up and what can the Three Lions do to pose problems for Fifa's 42nd-ranked nation?Panama's many shapesDuring their first two games, Panama have taken a dynamic approach depending on the phase of play the game is in.From opposition goal-kicks, Panama have stepped up to press aggressively in a 4-4-2 shape.If the opponents have quality on the ball and find themselves in possession higher up the pitch, Panama's high press falls into a mid-block, and they move from a 4-4-2 into a 5-3-2. Their focus is on making it hard for teams to play through them. As Croatia, in particular, grew into the game, Panama took an even more defensive approach. Their 5-3-2 became a 5-4-1, a shape they adopted with a deeper defensive line for large parts of the game. So what does this mean for England?Will England be able to play their own way?To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser.This video can not be playedFigure caption, Yirenkyi scores late winner for GhanaEngland are a side that will relish the prospect of playing a team that push up the pitch - if Panama do try to press.It was in the 93rd minute tha...