Panama & England fans mix on Nizhny Novgorod's Lenin Square ahead of World Cup encounter

England and Panama fans have gathered on Nizhny Novgorod's famous Lenin Square ahead of their crunch World Cup Group G match in the city.

Panama are competing in their first World Cup finals. The gravity of their successful qualification can be measured by the fact their president called for a national holiday when it was confirmed 'The Canal Men' had reached Russia 2018. 

Ahead of the game against the Three Lions, fans mixed freely and took photos in front of the Nizhny Novgorod's iconic Lenin statue. 

Veteran Panama fans even donned traditional Russian fur hats, called "ushanka" in Russian, despite the blistering 31 degree heat, and promised a 2-0 win for the Panamanians versus England. 

The team however made a losing start to their maiden World Cup, going down 3-0 to Belgium, and will hope to rectify that against heavy favorites England in Nizhny. 

England know a win will see them through to the knockout stages of the tournament, having beaten Tunisia 2-1 courtesy of a last-gasp goal in Volgograd on Monday. 

The Three Lions are largely expected to book their place in the last 16 with a win over the unfancied but plucky Central Americans.