Harry Kane rescued England from one of the most embarrassing exits in their World Cup history, scoring twice in 11 second-half minutes to overturn Brian Cipenga’s early goal and send the Three Lions through to the round of 16 with a 2-1 victory over DR Congo at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta on 1 July.
England will now face co-hosts Mexico at the Azteca Stadium on Monday for a place in the quarter-finals, but Tuchel will know this performance offered little cause for comfort. DR Congo were the better side for large stretches and had one of the tournament favourites teetering on the brink of elimination.
Tuchel made two changes from the Panama victory, with Declan Rice returning in midfield and Djed Spence coming in at right-back, with both Reece James and Jarell Quansah ruled out through injury. The decision not to select more specialist right-back cover in a 26-man squad will face renewed scrutiny after Congo took the lead down that flank.
Cipenga opened the scoring after just seven minutes. Spence was caught under Chancel Mbemba’s cross, the ball fell to the Almeria winger, and his low, hard shot beat Pickford at the near post, completed with a backflip celebration. The finish was brilliant. The defending was woeful. The vast majority of the nearly 70,000 crowd decked out in England colours were silenced instantly.
DR Congo dropped into a rigid 5-4-1 and goalkeeper Lionel Mpasi produced a series of saves that made him temporarily the most important player on the pitch. Bellingham’s 30th-minute header was England’s first shot of the match, their longest wait for a first attempt on record in a World Cup match since 1966, and Mpasi dealt with it brilliantly, producing a remarkable right-hand save. He clawed away a second Bellingham header before the interval and kept out a Kane volley from Rice’s corner in the final act of the first half. Bellingham was booked for a frustrated lunge in the 19th minute and was involved in a heated exchange with Tuchel during the hydration break.
England’s situation could have been worse. Rashford’s powerful effort was blocked on the line by Aaron Wan-Bissaka, while Yoane Wissa struck the post from point-blank range on the counter, a reminder of the genuine threat DR Congo carried on the break. Kane was furious when he went down inside the box under pressure from Mpasi, only for the referee to wave away the appeal, a decision confirmed by VAR.
England were running out of ideas until Tuchel unloaded his offensive weapons. Saka, Anthony Gordon and Eberechi Eze were sent on in search of a breakthrough, and Gordon’s impact was immediate. The new Barcelona signing delivered a clipped cross into the box that Kane met with a downward header to level at 1-1 in the 75th minute, his 12th World Cup goal and fourth of the tournament.
Eleven minutes later, England were ahead. Bellingham was denied by Mpasi, the ball broke to Gordon and then to Kane, who, with several defenders closing in, rifled a powerful drive into the top-right corner. It was an outrageous finish under pressure, Kane’s 13th World Cup goal. Across major tournament knockout appearances since Euro 2020, Kane has now scored 10 goals in 11 matches, three more than any other European player in that period, with Kylian Mbappe second on seven.
DR Congo’s fairytale run is over. The Leopards had never won a point or scored a goal at the World Cup until this tournament, but they pushed one of the favourites to the very edge. Their defeat means eight of the ten African teams to play in World Cup knockout matches have lost their first such game, with only two progressing.
