Nobody panic — everything is fine.
That was the message England fans were desperately telling themselves as they watched their team trail a Congo DR side ranked 46th in the world for most of a sweltering afternoon in Atlanta. This game was bonkers. England was denied a penalty that half of the English media is still furious about, had a shot cleared off the line, were repeatedly stonewalled by a goalkeeper having the game of his life, and spent 74 minutes looking like a team that had forgotten how to score.
And then Harry Kane happened. Twice. England is through to the round of 16, but they were pushed to the absolute brink to get there.
Here are my four takeaways from England’s 2-1 win over DR Congo:
1. Harry Kane Doesn’t Need the Whole Game. He Just Needs a Moment.
(Photo by Visionhaus/Getty Images)
Let’s be honest about England’s tournament so far. A fun 4-2 win over Croatia, then a flat 0-0 draw with Ghana, and a labored 2-0 win over Panama that only came alive after halftime. Harry Kane, by his own colossal standards, had been quiet. Going a goal down inside seven minutes to Congo DR fit that uneasy pattern perfectly. England forgot how to break down a defensive low block.
But here is the thing about Kane: when the moment is biggest, he arrives. He leveled it in the 75th minute, meeting an Anthony Gordon chip with a header of surgical precision. Then, with England’s World Cup teetering, he did it again in the 86th. Another Gordon delivery, another header, another ruthless finish tucked into the top corner — a world-class second-half brace to win the game in one of the biggest moments of Harry’s life.
England’s Harry Kane Scores CLUTCH Second Half Brace, Completing Comeback vs DR Congo
Before this tournament, plenty of people called Kane the best striker on the planet. 64 goals with Bayern Munich in 2025-26 will do that. He hadn’t quite looked himself here, but today, when his team needed their captain most, he delivered. That is what the greats of the game do.
2. That Penalty Decision Simply Has to Be Better.
Photo by Martin Rickett/PA Images via Getty Images)
Rewind to the 43rd minute. England trailing, the tension unbearable, when Jude Bellingham threaded Harry Kane through on goal. Kane knocked it past goalkeeper Lionel Mpasi; there was contact, and down he went. Referee Adham Makhadmeh waved it away as a dive. VAR checked and declined to intervene.
A few suggest Kane dragged his foot, inviting contact and essentially manufacturing the fall. There is a vocal minority who think Kane was a little clever.
England’s Harry Kane Denied Penalty | Mark Clattenburg gives his opinion on controversial call
But the English press is convinced it’s a penalty, and they are not alone. On the Fox broadcast, former Premier League referee Mark Clattenburg was adamant: the keeper didn’t play the ball, he caught Kane’s foot, and that’s a penalty. Thierry Henry agreed, baffled that the referee wasn’t even sent to the monitor. Whichever side you land on, that is exactly the problem. A decision this divisive, in a World Cup knockout, cannot be settled by a wave of the hand. We cannot have mistakes like this at this stage of the tournament. That’s what VAR is for.
3. Farewell, Congo DR. You Belonged, and Then Some.
(Photo by Evrim Aydin/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Give this Congo DR team its full due.
Brian Cipenga set the tone in the seventh minute, lashing a near-post finish past Jordan Pickford to stun the stadium. From there, the Leopards defended with a structure, a discipline, and a belief that almost nobody outside their camp saw coming. They held England’s expensively assembled attack at bay for 74 minutes and nearly went 2-0 up when Yoane Wissa, their Newcastle talisman and group-stage star, rattled Pickford’s post. Wissa scored three goals at this World Cup, matching the number he netted all season for Newcastle United.
DR Congo STUNS England 😱 Brian Cipenga Scores Goal to Take Early Lead
The Congolese squad has many Premier League connections, and that familiarity showed. Aaron Wan-Bissaka of West Ham and Burnley’s Axel Tuanzebe were immense at the back, while Sunderland’s Noah Sadiki scrapped for everything in midfield. But the true hero wore the gloves. Lionel Mpasi, the Le Havre goalkeeper, produced five saves, twice denying Jude Bellingham with reflexes that had nothing to do with luck. Congo DR didn’t just show up. They led for most of the day and made England sweat through every pore. No shame in this exit. Only pride.
4. Tuchel Has to Go Back to the Drawing Board. Mexico Awaits.
(Photo by Richard Sellers/Sportsphoto/Allstar via Getty Images)
England is through. That’s the headline, and it matters. But the rest of it demands an honest look in the mirror.
Thomas Tuchel still hasn’t found the version of this team that lasts a full 90 minutes. The group stage was a loop of slow starts, sluggish first halves, and second-half rescues. Today repeated the pattern, except the stakes had soared. Against a well-drilled Congo DR side, England never truly imposed itself. The attack looked disjointed for an hour; the width was missing, and the service to Kane was thin. Without its captain’s brilliance, England goes home today. That should worry Tuchel as much as it relieves him.
Because now comes the nightmare. Mexico, at Mexico City Stadium, at over 7,000 feet of altitude, inside a cauldron of 80,000-plus fans who will treat this like a final. Mexico has been ruthless, winning all three group games before dismantling a very good Ecuador 2-0. They haven’t conceded a single goal this tournament. Against Ecuador, it was one of the greatest Mexican performances of all-time. Ironically, this is not a vintage Mexican side on paper, but the Mexico City Stadium is a legitimate 12th man, and the thin air makes everyone else mortal. England survived today.
Tuchel needs answers, fast. Against Mexico, survival won’t cut it.
England vs DR Congo Extended Highlights 🌎🏆 2026 FIFA World Cup™ | Round of 32
