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Roy Keane has claimed that England manager Thomas Tuchel remains uncertain about his strongest starting eleven, even though the Three Lions secured top spot in their World Cup group with a win over Panama on Saturday.

England endured a frustrating first half in New Jersey, failing to score, before Jude Bellingham and Harry Kane struck in the second period to seal a 2-0 victory. The result ensured England’s place in the last 32, where they will play in Atlanta on Wednesday.

Tuchel opted for five changes from the side that drew against Ghana, with the injured Reece James replaced by Jarrell Quansah, who later picked up a knock himself. Morgan Rogers, Bukayo Saka, and Marcus Rashford were also brought into the starting line-up as Tuchel rotated his attacking options, keeping only Kane in place.

“I don’t think he has a clue what his best XI is,” former Ireland and Manchester United skipper Roy Keane told ITV after the match. “That’s not good. Defensively, he keeps chopping and changing. It’s not just the wide players – it’s across a few positions.”

Keane added, “The focus is on the attacking players. Too many of them aren’t performing. There are too many question marks – it’s like flipping a coin to decide who starts. These lads just aren’t delivering.”

Bellingham, however, sounded much more upbeat after scoring his second goal of the tournament. “First job achieved,” the Real Madrid midfielder said. “We came here with a plan to take things step by step. We got through the pre-camp games and met the first target, which was to top the group.”

Reflecting on the performance, Bellingham added, “We knew the standard we wanted to reach, and we did that in the second half.”

When asked whether he preferred scoring or assisting Harry Kane’s goal, Bellingham replied, “The assist. It was a good bit of link-up play, and it’s always great to set Harry up again. He deserves everything he gets – you see how much work he puts in as captain, and his quality speaks for itself.”

Kane’s goal saw him become England’s all-time leading World Cup scorer with 11 goals, surpassing Gary Lineker’s record.

England will now face one of Senegal, DR Congo, Algeria, or Austria in their round-of-32 clash in Atlanta on Wednesday at 5 pm BST.