Scouting report on Panama - why England should be wary

Image source, Getty Images Image caption, Panama are a better side than the one that lost 6-1 against England in the 2018 World Cup By Umir Irfan Football tactics correspondent Published 14 minutes ago With 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 shapes During 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 played Figure caption, Yirenkyi scores late winner for Ghana England 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 that Panama conceded against Ghana as they chased a winner. When they lost the ball in the final third, Panama pressed high but Ghana played into their forwards quickly and they capitalised on the space that opened up. Image caption, After failing to win the ball back after a high counter-press, Panama found themselves in this situation - and it ultimately lead to them conceding the winner Against Croatia - and in the qualifying games - it was clear Thomas Tuchel's game model was similarly built upon teasing opponents out of a stubborn defensive shape. When Croatia did press England's defenders or deep midfielders, and space opened up between their attacking and defending units, Tuchel's side sought to find their own forwards quickly against fewer defenders. Against Ghana, England suffered because Carlos Queiroz's men offered an alternative blueprint that took away Tuchel's preferred conditions, instead sitting deep without applying forward pressure. This kept Ghana compact between attack and defence. Playing around Panama Panama are a