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SNEAKY Panama tried to take advantage of England celebrations by taking an early kick off in today’s World Cup showdown.

The Three Lions sealed their place in the knockout stages with a thumping 6-1 victory over minnows.

 Crafty Panama tried to take advantage of England's celebrations in remarkable fashion as one man quickly grabbed the ball
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Crafty Panama tried to take advantage of England's celebrations in remarkable fashion as one man quickly grabbed the ballCredit: FIFA
 England's outfield players were all in the opposition half celebrating Harry Kane's first penalty
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England's outfield players were all in the opposition half celebrating Harry Kane's first penaltyCredit: Getty Images - Getty

But the North American outfit cunningly tried to get themselves back into it in ludicrous fashion with every England outfield star inside the opposition half celebrating Harry Kane’s first penalty.

One Panama man quickly grabbed hold of the ball and sprinted to the centre spot as he urged his team-mates to quickly join him in getting forward.

He then kicked off by passing to a colleague who then ran through towards goal with just goalkeeper Jordan Pickford to beat.

But he only got halfway down the pitch before the referee’s whistle stopped him in his tracks.

 The Panama ace grabbed the ball and raced forward to take the kick off
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The Panama ace grabbed the ball and raced forward to take the kick offCredit: FIFA
 He quickly passed to a team-mate and thought he had outwitted the Three Lions
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He quickly passed to a team-mate and thought he had outwitted the Three LionsCredit: FIFA
 Two Panama men raced through towards goal but were correctly stopped by the referee
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Two Panama men raced through towards goal but were correctly stopped by the refereeCredit: FIFA

Whistleblower Ghead Grisha's decision was not greeted kindly by the Panama team – but it was absolutely correct.

According to the official laws of the game, law eight states “all players, except the player taking the kick-off, must be in their own half of the field of play” at kick off.

Try nice, but perhaps the Panama squad could do with reading up on the rulebook as well as working on their defence.

Kane ended up finishing with a hat-trick, with a brace from John Stones and another goal from Jesse Lingard sealing the emphatic win ahead of the final group game against Belgium on Thursday.

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