Gareth Southgate has demanded England continue to strive for “perfection” in their preparations for Sunday’s fixture against Panama.

Victory over Tunisia means England are well-placed to progress to the knockout stages of the World Cup, particularly given their next opponents are widely considered the weakest team in Group G.

Three further points would relieve the pressure that would otherwise build for their final group match against Belgium, but despite his team’s status as favourites on Sunday and the way they impressed against Tunisia, Southgate is adamant that they cannot afford to relax.

Tunisia v England – FIFA World Cup 2018 – Group G – Volgograd Arena
Gareth Southgate oversaw victory against Tunisia on Monday (Adam Davy/PA)

“What we’ve got to make sure is we enjoy it but we don’t have comfort for the next four or five days,” the England manager said. “We have got a job to do.

“We have to prepare as perfectly for Panama to make sure we get the result in that game we need.

“The players know it’s hard to win a match in the World Cup against any opposition and Tunisia were opposition we respected.

“But Panama for 45 minutes were obdurate opponents against Belgium and we’ll have to prepare 100 per cent right to win it.

“We are a team that are improving and developing, and therefore there will always be things that we can get better at.

“We’re a long way from perfection. What pleased me is that there has been a long period of work gone into (Monday’s) result from all the players and all of the support team.”

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England – FIFA World Cup 2018 – Media Activity – 19th June
England’s Marcus Rashford speaks to the media in Repino (Owen Humphreys/PA)

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The England squad will be given a rest day following their exertions on Monday against Tunisia, and having spent Tuesday focusing on recovery.

Three Lions throwback

Soccer – FIFA World Cup 2014 – Group D – Uruguay v England – Estadio Do Sao Paulo
England’s Wayne Rooney scored against Uruguay on this day in 2014 (Nick Potts/PA)