The Sports Guru
For 75 minutes this was going wrong. Then Harry Kane happened, twice. This covers England's 2-1 come-from-behind win over DR Congo in the World Cup round of 32, Brian Cipenga's shock seventh-minute opener, the string of saves that kept England out, the Kane double that turned it, the records he passed on the way, and the last-16 tie with co-hosts Mexico at the Azteca that it set up.
England are through to the last 16 of the World Cup, and they have Harry Kane to thank for it. A 2-1 win over DR Congo in the round of 32 looks routine on the scoreline and was anything but, a game England trailed for more than an hour before their captain scored twice in the final quarter to rescue Thomas Tuchel's side. The reward is a last-16 showdown with co-hosts Mexico at the Azteca Stadium, and on the evidence of this, England will need a sharper version of themselves to survive it.
The 68,239 inside the Mercedes-Benz Stadium saw a night that swung entirely on Kane. He was denied, frustrated and even booked for a dive before he found the two moments that mattered. A quarter of an hour from time he headed England level, and on 86 minutes he settled it with a finish of real venom. Between those two goals lies the difference between a campaign that continues and one that ends in the round of 32.
DR Congo's dream start
This was the first World Cup knockout match in DR Congo's history, and for a long time they played like a side determined to make it memorable. Inside seven minutes they were ahead, Brian Cipenga capitalising on defensive disarray to beat Jordan Pickford at his near post. It was a soft goal to concede from England's point of view and a deserved one from DR Congo's, the product of an opening spell in which the underdogs pressed with belief and England looked strangely rattled.
It could have been worse. On 42 minutes Yoane Wissa struck the post from close range, the kind of let-off that tends to look significant only in hindsight. At the other end England laboured against a disciplined, well-drilled opponent, and when they did threaten they ran into Lionel Mpasi. The DR Congo goalkeeper had the game of his life, thwarting Jude Bellingham on three separate occasions and turning Kane's near-post effort away in first-half stoppage time. Marcus Rashford thought he had a goal, only for Aaron Wan-Bissaka to clear it off the line. And then came the flashpoint: Kane went down under contact from Mpasi inside the box on 43 minutes and was controversially penalised for diving rather than awarded the penalty many felt he had earned. For 75 minutes, nothing went England's way.
Kane, twice, to the rescue
Tuchel's changes shifted the balance. Anthony Gordon came off the bench and gave England width and directness they had lacked, and it was his cross that finally broke the resistance. With a quarter of an hour left, Gordon delivered and Kane rose to head England level, a captain's goal at the moment his team most needed one. The relief around the stadium was the sound of a nation exhaling.
The winner was better still. Eleven minutes later Kane found a yard of space amid a crowd of DR Congo defenders and rifled an unstoppable strike into the roof of the net. There was nothing Mpasi could do about that one. It was the finish of a striker who has spent a career making difficult look inevitable, and it completed a comeback that had looked, for much of the evening, beyond England. "It feels amazing to be honest. What a crazy game," Kane told the BBC afterwards, and few would argue with either half of that sentence.
His own assessment of the performance was more revealing than the platitude. "From an attacking point of view, it's the best performance so far," he said. "We are in the part of the tournament where we have to grind wins out." That is the honest reading. England did not play well for long stretches, but they found a way, and at this stage of a World Cup finding a way is most of the job. "Whoever it is, we have hero moments," Kane added, and on this night he was both the hero and the moment.
Past Pele and into the record books
The double did more than send England through. It carried Kane above Brazil legend Pele on 13 goals at World Cups, a milestone that would once have sounded absurd next to an England name and now simply reads as fact. He also became the first England player to score a brace in a World Cup knockout match since Gary Lineker against Cameroon in the 1990 quarter-finals, a 36-year wait ended in a single quarter of an hour.
The wider numbers, courtesy of Opta, underline how reliably Kane delivers when the stakes are highest. He has now scored 10 goals across his 11 major-tournament knockout appearances since Euro 2020, three more than any other European player in that period, with Kylian Mbappe next on seven. Add it all up and Kane is on 72 goals for club and country this season. The debate about whether England can win a tournament rumbles on. The debate about whether Kane will keep scoring when they need it most looks long settled. His earlier tournament form, including his goals in the group-stage win over Croatia and the victory in Panama, was merely prologue to this.
Mexico and the Azteca await
The prize is a heavyweight one. England will face Mexico in the last 16 at the Azteca Stadium, kicking off at 1am BST on Monday, and it is hard to imagine a more daunting assignment. The co-hosts have won all four of their games and are yet to concede a goal, and the Azteca is one of football's great fortresses: altitude, heat, a deafening crowd and a home side riding a wave of belief. England laboured to beat a DR Congo team ranked well below Mexico. They will need to be considerably better in Mexico City.
Kane, at least, was determined to enjoy the moment before the enormity of the next one sinks in. "I just told the boys to enjoy it," he said. "Sometimes as an England player, you don't celebrate how you should. The same as every other nation, we're through, enjoy it." It is a sensible instinct. A comeback win in the knockout stage of a World Cup does not come along often, and the tie that follows will demand every ounce of composure England can find. For DR Congo, a first knockout appearance ends in narrow defeat but with heads held high, undone only by the one man on the pitch capable of turning a night like this. England march on, imperfect and grateful, into a last-16 tie that will tell us far more about them than this one did.
Frequently Asked Questions
England beat DR Congo 2-1 in their World Cup round-of-32 tie at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium, in front of 68,239. DR Congo led through Brian Cipenga's seventh-minute strike, but Harry Kane scored twice in the final 15 minutes, heading in an Anthony Gordon cross on 75 minutes and firing the winner on 86, to complete the comeback and send England into the last 16.
England will face co-hosts Mexico in the last 16 at the Azteca Stadium, with kick-off at 1am BST on Monday. Mexico reached the round of 16 having won all four of their games so far without conceding a goal, making the Azteca one of the toughest possible assignments for Thomas Tuchel's side.
Kane's double took him above Brazil legend Pele on 13 goals at World Cups. He also became the first England player to score a brace in a World Cup knockout match since Gary Lineker against Cameroon in the 1990 quarter-finals. Opta noted he has scored 10 goals across his 11 major-tournament knockout appearances since Euro 2020, three more than any other European player in that time.
Kane went to ground under contact from DR Congo goalkeeper Lionel Mpasi inside the box on 43 minutes. Rather than award a penalty many felt England deserved, the referee controversially penalised Kane for diving. It was one of several first-half moments that went against England before Kane's late double turned the game.
DR Congo, playing in the first World Cup knockout match in their history, gave England a serious scare. They led early through Brian Cipenga, hit the post through Yoane Wissa, and were kept in the tie by a string of saves from goalkeeper Lionel Mpasi, who denied Jude Bellingham three times. They were beaten only by Kane's two late goals and went out with credit.
Sources: Final score, goalscorers and minutes, the 68,239 attendance at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Brian Cipenga's opener, Lionel Mpasi's saves, Yoane Wissa's effort against the post, the Marcus Rashford chance cleared off the line by Aaron Wan-Bissaka, the disallowed penalty and Kane booking, Anthony Gordon's assist, the Kane records past Pele and Gary Lineker, the Opta knockout-stage numbers, Kane's quotes to the BBC, and the last-16 tie against Mexico at the Azteca with a 1am BST Monday kick-off, as reported in Sky Sports' coverage (Nick Wright) of England 2-1 DR Congo at the World Cup.
