England 2-1 Congo DR: Player Ratings & Match Report

Harry Kane does not panic. England were a goal down inside seven minutes in Atlanta, their World Cup round of 32 tie against Congo DR tilting in a direction nobody in the Mercedes-Benz Stadium had anticipated, and the captain simply waited for his moment. He waited 68 minutes, in fact. Then he scored twice in eleven minutes to turn the match entirely on its head and send England into the last sixteen with a 2-1 win that felt more comfortable in the end than the scoreline suggests.

Brian Cipenga had provided the shock. Seven minutes gone, Chancel Mbemba threading the pass through, and the forward finished to make it 0-1. Congo DR's expected goals for the entire match would end at 0.76, yet they had produced the opening goal from their cleanest piece of attacking football of the afternoon. England's back four were caught, Nico O'Reilly in particular exposed down the left side, and Tuchel's 4-2-3-1 suddenly looked susceptible.

It should not have stayed that way for so long. England had 60 per cent of the ball, 515 passes completed at 91 per cent accuracy, and thirteen of their sixteen shots came from inside the box. Lionel Mpasi Nzau in the Congo DR goal made five saves. Five. England carved out the chances and wasted them with a regularity that stretched well into the second half. Noni Madueke was lively down the right before his early exit and Jude Bellingham, booked during the second period, never quite found the pockets of space he needed against a compact Congolese midfield three that refused to open up.

The hour mark came and went with England still behind. Then Tuchel acted. Anthony Gordon came on, Bukayo Saka came on, and the game changed shape. The Congolese block, which had frustrated England so effectively, suddenly had wider problems to address. Gordon in particular was direct and purposeful, and Congo DR could not cope with two successive deliveries into Kane's area. On 75 minutes Gordon found the captain, and Kane, six yards out, did what he does. 1-1. Eleven minutes later Gordon found Kane again, and again Kane converted. 2-1. Two assists for the substitute in 34 minutes; two goals for the man who needed no more than a clear sight of goal on either occasion.

England's expected goals figure was 2.04 across the full match. They scored exactly two. The numbers balanced, but only once a substitute who had not started the game forced that balance. It raises a question Tuchel will not need to answer yet, but will not be able to ignore for long.

Elliot Anderson was probably the pick of the English starters, energetic and composed in the double pivot alongside Declan Rice, and Marc Guéhi held England's defensive shape together through the nervier passages. But this match belongs to Kane. Both goals were taken with total certainty, the product of a striker who has spent enough time at the top of the game to know where the ball is going before the pass arrives.

For Congo DR there is genuine pride in the early lead and in the way Desabre's side defended for so long with discipline and organisation. Aaron Wan-Bissaka, their best player on the night, was composed and aggressive at right back and gave England's left side no comfort whatsoever. Mbemba's assist for the opener was a pass of real quality. But the game's mathematics always favoured England once Tuchel found his levers, and Kane made sure of it.

England and Congo DR meet for the first time in their histories on Wednesday evening at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium, and the occasion could hardly carry more weight. This is the Round of 32, the point at which the tournament stops being about group-stage arithmetic and starts being about survival. One mistake, one lapse in the final third, and the summer is over.

For England, the expectation is familiar and heavy. Three Lions sides have been here before, in knockout rounds that promised much and delivered complicated feelings, and there will be no shortage of nervous energy in the stands. Gareth Southgate's successor inherits a squad with genuine quality across the pitch, and the hope is that quality shows up when it counts rather than merely in the build-up.

On the injury front, Reece James is absent for England, which narrows the options at right back and removes a player who offers both defensive solidity and attacking width. The fact pack records no further fresh absences for either side, so both squads otherwise report clean bills of health going into the game.

Congo DR arrive as the underdogs by most measures, but reaching the Round of 32 at a World Cup is no accident. They will be organised, they will be physical, and they will be aware that nothing concentrates a team's mind quite like the prospect of putting a major nation out of a tournament. Any side still standing at this stage of the competition has earned its place.

Because these two nations have never previously met at any level recorded here, there is no head-to-head pattern to lean on, no historical grudge or tactical memory for either coaching staff to consult. It is a clean slate, which suits the side that handles the occasion better.

The data leans firmly in England's favour. A double chance backing England or a draw returns a combined probability of 100 per cent, with no probability assigned to a Congo DR victory. That is not a ringing endorsement of English nerve so much as a reflection of the gulf in resources between the two sides. Whether England can turn that resource advantage into goals, and avoid the kind of stalemate that sends knockout ties to extra time, is the question that will define their evening. Kick-off at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium is Wednesday 1 July at 17:00 UK time.