England came from behind in Atlanta to beat Congo DR with two late Harry Kane goals and reach the Round of 16 for the third successive edition.
England goals: Harry Kane (75, 86) Congo DR goals: Brian Cipenga (7)
England survived a major scare as they came from behind to beat Congo DR and reach the last 16 of the FIFA World Cup 2026™ in Atlanta.
Thomas Tuchel’s team trailed from the seventh minute, when Brian Cipenga opened the scoring, until the 75th minute when Harry Kane equalised, with the England skipper then blasting a brilliant winner in a dramatic turnaround. England's reward is a Round of 16 meeting with co-hosts Mexico at the Mexico City Stadium on Sunday, 5 July.
England had lost none of their previous nine World Cup meetings with African opposition and they kept that record intact in Atlanta but only just.
Congo had never played a World Cup knockout game before yet they made a dream start after seven minutes with Cipenga’s first-ever international goal. A crossfield ball from the right was flicked on by Chancel Mbemba to Cipenga who was completely free on the left side of the box to fire in a low shot that beat Jordan Pickford at his near post.
For the first time in their history, England won a World Cup match after trailing at half-time. In nine previous instances where they were behind at the break, they had drawn twice and lost seven times.