Great Clips of the Week: England, Panama celebrate big in Three Lions' World Cup win


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STILL PARTYING — Everyone is partying at the World Cup, winners or losers, and the 2018 seminal event in international soccer is no exception — even in Russia.

But Sunday was a special day in Russia, which saw 14 goals scored across three matches.

Even Panama, which lost to England 6-1 and was eliminated from the Knockout Round in its first-ever World Cup final appearance, had reason to celebrate.

As always, click the video above for the complete list of Great Clips of the Week.

Party like it’s 1966

The English press has made a habit of remaining critical of the England national team every four years, despite the fact they have only failed to qualify for the FIFA World Cup three times since 1950.

So when the Three Lions used a 6-1 win over Panama to surge to the top of the group for the best start to a World Cup since 2006, there was plenty of cause for celebration.

And fans back home in the Isles celebrated plenty, especially after John Stone’s opening goal inside of 10 minutes.

Here’s proof from the HQ Sports Bar, one of the larger sports pubs in the United Kingdom.

Stone went on to score two goals, and Harry Kane had a hat trick in the rout of Panama.

But the Panamanians also had reasons to celebrate with the national team’s first-ever goal scored in their first World Cup.

Here’s the CONCACAF side going nuts after 37-year-old team captain Felipe Baloy converted the first opening goal in the nation’s history on a free kick, already down 6-0.

As soon as the match was over, and Panama had been eliminated from Knockout Round contention, Panama's players gathered at midfield, knelt down and huddled together in prayer.

"Some of us players were attacked, criticized for our age," Baloy told the Associated Press. "I think it's important, something big.

"England is a strong team, with great players. We're learning a lot. The result makes us sad, but the first goal is important."

Panama has one more match, against fellow eliminated Tunisia in the final match Thursday, June 28. England will face Belgium in a simultaneous kickoff to cap Group G play.

Panama's Blas Perez jumps over teammate Felipe Baloy after he scored his side's opening goal against England during a group G match at the 2018 soccer World Cup at the Nizhny Novgorod Stadium in Nizhny Novgorod , Russia, Sunday, June 24, 2018. (Photo: Victor Caivano, AP Photo)
Panama's Blas Perez jumps over teammate Felipe Baloy after he scored his side's opening goal against England during a group G match at the 2018 soccer World Cup at the Nizhny Novgorod Stadium in Nizhny Novgorod , Russia, Sunday, June 24, 2018. (Photo: Victor Caivano, AP Photo)

Falcao (finally) gets his goal

Radamel Falcao is a legend in Colombian soccer.

But the country’s all-time leading scorer has never done one thing — score in the World Cup … until Sunday.

Falcao's goal punctuated Colombia's 3-0 win over Poland, eliminating the Poles from Knockout Stage contention with a punctuating loss.

And for Falcao, the moment will live on forever.

The AS Monaco forward is Colombia’s all-time leading scorer in international club competitions, but Russia was the 32-year-old Falcao's first-ever World Cup.

He starred for the country's youth teams, and pulled Los Cafeteros through 2014 World Cup qualifying before suffering a torn anterior cruciate ligament in January 2014 that forced him out of Jose Peterman’s final squad list in heartbreaking fashion.

He returned to the squad in time for the 2015 Copa America, leading Colombia to a quarterfinal appearance against continental power Argentina.

Then on Sunday, he finally got his One Shining Moment in a World Cup.

And now for a … SQUIRREL!

Let’s get this out of the way: Rory McIlroy is one of the best golfers in the world.

But when a special guest shows up at the Travelers Championship this weekend, the whole world stops — including the North Irishman.

When McIlroy tried to tee off at the start of the third round Saturday, a pesky squirrel showed up on the tee box to steal the spotlight.

For those who don’t know golf, that’s called a "pace-of-play" violation. But as far as we know, neither McIlroy nor the squirrel were assessed the mandatory one-stroke penalty for the infraction.

McIlroy finished tied for 12th at 269. Bubba Watson won the tournament, claiming his third Travelers Championship with a four-day total of 17-under 263.

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