England booked their place in the Round of 16 of the 2026 FIFA World Cup with a hard-fought 2-1 victory over a spirited DR Congo side, as captain Harry Kane scored twice to spare Thomas Tuchel’s men from a major upset.
Despite progressing, England endured a frustrating evening in which they struggled to match the intensity, pace and determination of their African opponents for long spells of the Round of 32 encounter.
DR Congo matched England blow for blow and were the better side in several phases of the game, forcing the Three Lions into an uninspiring display that left their supporters anxious for much of the contest.
England created a handful of opportunities in the opening stages, but Marcus Rashford and Kane could only direct tame efforts straight at DR Congo goalkeeper Lionel Mpezi, who dealt comfortably with the attempts.
The European side lacked fluency in attack, with misplaced passes, overhit crosses and a noticeable lack of urgency preventing them from establishing control.
At times, England appeared devoid of ideas as DR Congo pressed aggressively and competed confidently against one of the tournament favourites.
For the match, Tuchel made three changes to the side that defeated Panama in the previous round, bringing in Djed Spence, Declan Rice and Noni Madueke, while Jarell Quansah missed out through injury and Morgan Rogers and Bukayo Saka dropped to the bench.
England started with Jordan Pickford in goal, while Spence, Ezri Konsa, Marc Guehi and O’Reilly formed the defence. Rice and Anderson operated in midfield behind Madueke, Jude Bellingham and Rashford, with Kane leading the attack.
DR Congo coach Sébastien Desabre made one change to the team that started against Uzbekistan, introducing Ngal’ayel Mukau in place of Cedric Bakambu.
The Congolese lined up with Lionel Mpezi in goal, Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Chancel Mbemba, Axel Tuanzebe and Arthur Masuaku in defence, while Samuel Moutoussamy, Sadiki, Mukau, Cipenga, Yoane Wissa and Mbuku completed the starting XI.
With England struggling to break down the resilient Congolese side, Tuchel turned to his bench in the 61st minute, introducing Bukayo Saka for Madueke and Anthony Gordon for Rashford in a move that transformed the contest.
The substitutions immediately injected pace and creativity into England’s attack.
Gordon proved to be the game’s turning point. In the 75th minute, he delivered a precise cross for Kane to equalise for England after Brian Cipenga had put Congo DR in the lead in the 7th minute of the game.
As DR Congo searched desperately to remain in the game, Gordon struck again in the closing stages, providing another incisive pass in the 86th minute which Kane emphatically finished to complete his brace and put England in firm control.
The result sends England into the Round of 16.
(The Whistler)
