John Barnes’ Panama vs England Boosted Bet Builder

England legend John Barnes is part of the Betfred team as our official World Cup Ambassador throughout the summer in North America. He’s providing us with his views and insight on all things England, plus anything and everything going on in the world of football over the next two months.

He spoke to our team ahead of Saturday's big match against Panama and has put together a Bet Builder for this one, which the Betfred traders have boosted, meaning this fourfold is currently available to back at 25/1 from 18/1 here on Betfred...

*Remember, you can create your own Bet Builder and check out all of our Panama vs England Odds over on our betting market page on betfred.com

Harry Kane to Score Anytime (Sub Switch)

John has unsurprisingly led with what will be one of the most popular legs from all customers placing a Bet Builder on Panama vs England.

England’s all-time record scorer Kane has enjoyed a quite wonderful domestic season in Germany, helping Bayern Munich to yet another Bundesliga title. With 36 goals in the league and a quite mind-boggling 69 in all competitions so far in the 25/26 season (including for England), the 32-year-old has once more reminded everyone that he’s one of - if not - the premier centre forward in world football.

He grabbed a brace in England’s opener against Croatia and although he blanked in the disappointing draw against Ghana, he’ll come into this match with fond memories of Panama, having scooped a hat-trick against them in the group stage of the 2018 World Cup.

In addition, England’s captain is the designated penalty taker and that always boosts the chances to hit the back of the net.

This is a Sub Switch market, so should Kane be replaced at any time without scoring, whoever comes off the bench for him will take up the mantle and should they score, the leg will be declared a winner.

Elliot Anderson to be Carded (Sub Switch)

What a week this should be for the young Nottingham Forest midfielder. Reports on Friday morning indicate that a fee has been agreed between his club and Manchester City to get his move to the Etihad over the line.

It has been quite the rise for the Geordie Boy, who only left the North East because of PSR meaning his beloved Newcastle United had to sell players to avoid a point deduction.

The move to the banks of the River Trent though could not have gone any better. He found a spot as a holding midfielder and has blossomed into one of England’s finest, forming a strong pair with Arsenal’s Declan Rice at national level.

Anderson isn’t what you’d consider a dirty player, yet he has racked up the cards since becoming a mainstay in the Forest midfielder, earning 18 cards from 80 starts for them in the Premier League over the past two seasons, that equates to a tick under one yellow per four starts.

What he hasn’t done however is be carded for his country, despite having nine starts and two appearances from the substitutes bench to his name. This makes us feel that he might well be due.

The combative midfielder has already committed five fouls through two matches at the 2026 World Cup and at 11/2 for this leg, that feels like a good price to really up the value of this Bet Builder.

Away Team (England) Over 2.5 Goals

John is expecting a performance more akin to the Croatia one that what we saw against Ghana, prompting him to picking England to score at least three times against the Central American side.

As noted earlier, these two faced one another in the group stage back in Russia, with England rolling to a comprehensive 6-1 victory. This was the only time the two have played until Saturday’s match.

Panama have been stronger defensively at this World Cup compared to their only other appearance. On that occasion, they shipped 11 in their three group matches, whereas here they’ve gone down twice but only by a scoreline of 1-0 on both occasions.

Having already been eliminated however, they have no need to set up overly defensively and will want to come away from this tournament with something to show for their efforts and to give their fans something to cheer. This should lead to a more open game, giving the English chances to score a few.

Total Corners Over 8.5 

The final leg is on corners with a total of over 8.5, which would’ve hit in three of the four Group L matches so far. Only the Ghana vs Panama game (which had four), would’ve been a loser on this front.

England themselves have been awarded eight against Croatia and nine when they played Ghana.

On paper, Panama are the weakest team in the group, so Thomas Tuchel’s side could well hit the over 8.5 mark all on their own.

*For all of the latest World Cup Odds, head over to betfred.com to check out our plethora of betting markets for the tournament.

Don't like John's selections and fancy building your own? Well we have a great offer on that gives you a £10 free Bet Builder when you place a minimum £10 Bet Builder of your own.