Fitness boost for key England star ahead of Panama clash

England midfielder Dele Alli is working towards full fitness as the game against Panama looms large.

The Tottenham player suffered a minor thigh strain during the victory over Tunisia, a game in which is club team-mate Harry Kane notched dramatic late winner for the Three Lions.

On Wednesday night Alli tweeted: “Frustrating to have picked up a slight injury on Monday. Will do everything in my power to get back to full fitness asap! #ThreeLions”

Jesse Lingard, meanwhile, loves trying to “create something new” with England at the World Cup.

Monday’s 2-1 win was no less than England deserved from their Group G opener, which should have been over within 30 minutes given the ferocity of the start made by Gareth Southgate’s side.

That verve and energy enthused supporters, helping to give Three Lions fans hope after recent frustrating major tournament outings.

“What’s in the past is the past,” attacking midfielder Lingard said.

“We are just trying to create something new at the moment.

“We’ve got a raw squad, an exciting squad so we are going to see how far we can go with this team that we’ve got.

“When you put the shirt on you’ve got a job to do and that’s to win the game. That’s the main thing.

“When you can do that as a team and you have that togetherness you can pull it off.”