Certainly the first unexpected decision of the game came when FIFA officials decided there would be no water breaks for the players. Recorded as just below the temperature needed to make such a decision, it was deemed unwarranted to break the game up unnecessarily.
Team news was unsurprising in that Dele Alli was the only change from the win over Tunisia only a few nights before. Injury being the reason for the change rather than any performance issues. Raheem Sterling, despite calls from back home, kept his place and for me at least, had a pretty decent game.
Early on in the game there were scares and warning signs for Gareth Southgates men. A couple of poor passes from the back gave Panama half decent chances yet we still stuck to playing that way. Building from the back is all too familiar to Manchester City fans, and it will soon become second nature to England fans too.
With eight minutes on the clock, and with wrestling in the box, John Stones headed England into the lead. Finding himself unmarked in the box a powerful header either side of the Penedo would result in a goal. The Panamanian keeper could do nothing as the City defender opened up the scoring.
From then England were passing the ball well, retaining possession, but not really putting the opposition to the sword. In the 22nd minute Harry Kane stepped up to take a penalty kick to double the lead. Lindgard was brought down, not by one, but two defenders. After having the Panamanian players in his face, trying to intimidate, Kane fired home.
Two became three just under ten minutes from the half when Jesse Lindgard played a one-two with Raheem Sterling. The two Manchester rivals interchanged their passes perfectly before the United man scored what could be goal of the tournament.
The fourth quickly followed with Sterling front and center yet gain. His header, from a well worked free kick, was too close to the keeper. Penedo parried, but only into the path of Stones, who headed home for the fourth. With it, John Stones has now scored more World Cup tournament goals than Wayne Rooney!
As the half-time whistle approached Harry Kane dispatched another penalty. The same build up as the previous one, with the gamesmanship from Panama, followed by an unstoppable penalty. This time, however, the penalty was won by the player converting. With play more suited to a rugby field, Harry Kane was wrestled, then struck in the back before gong to ground.
As the half time whistle went, and England fans reveled in the scoreline, I couldn't help but look at the key stats. England only enjoyed 62% of the possession in the first half, with six shots on goal. Of course two of those were from the penalty spot with another being Raheems saved header and my question, as ridiculous as it sounds at 5-0 was, are England creative enough in that final third?
Of course the tactics applied to the game from the opposition made free flowing football impossible, with fouls and grappling occurring all over the field. A real test will be on Thursday, against significantly better opposition. If Kane and co can do the business against them then who knows how far that confidence could take the side.
The second half was a bit of game management from both coaches. Panama didn't want to concede a cricket score and England already had the job done. Harry Kane scored his third and England's sixth with a touch he knew nothing of, before being substituted with Lingard for Jamie Vardy and Fabian Delph.
With a little over ten minutes left, Panama would score their first goal of the tournament with Baloy taking advantage of a napping England back line. Concentration will be key for England against the likes of Eden Hazard, Lukaku and Kevin De Bruyne on Thursday. Already qualified, it will be clear the potential opponents as the game begins.
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