England 2-1 DR Congo 2026 FIFA World Cup Review - King Kane

Why do they never make things easy? Whether it's nailbiting penalty shoot outs, nailbiting extra time or nailbiting games like this, England will never not make it as tourtous as possible for their long, long suffering fans. But, in what was a massive banana skin for them, they just about emerged with a win and progression into the last 16 of the World Cup. And they were once again saved by their captain and leading goalscorer, Sir Harry Kane. Or is that King Kane? Here is my review of their win over the DR Congo:

Impressive

Full credit first of all to DR Congo. They were excellent for most of that game. They took England by surprise and grabbed an early lead. They were bright, energetic and maybe should have been 2-0 up when Yoanne Wissa somehow hit the post from a few yards out when it looked easier to score. The team have done themselves and their country proud and can feel slightly unfortunate to not at least have forced the game into extra time.

But truth be told, after a good first half, they faded badly as the 2nd half went on. They looked to have run out of legs and England's changes made them stronger, whilst DR Congo didn't have the strength in depth. Still, as I said, a creditable performance from them.

King Kane

The best teams are carried by their biggest stars. You only have to look at Brazil, Argentina, France, Norway and several others to know that is true. Well, England desperately needed their big players to step up as they were staring down the barrel of their most humiliating exit in a decade.

But up stepped the captain himself. First he worked some space to power in a header past the impressive Mpaso-Nzau to level the score and then with 4 minutes to go, he once again worked some space and hit an unstoppable shot past the deflated DR Congo keeper to win it for England.

Him and Bellingham were once again England's best performers and the side will go as far as those 2 can carry them.

Average

I don't want to go too negative, but beyond Bellingham and Kane, it's a whole lot of very, very average players. Sure, I think there are a few that could carry over into Euro 2028, but there needs to be a culling after this tournament of various players who quite clearly aren't up to top international standards. Spence, Konsa, Madueke and of course, all the bench fillers. For me, the experiment with taking a good 15 players who will play and then padding the squad with very average players who won't kick up a stink doesn't seem to have worked.

I get why they didn't take the likes of Trent Alexander-Arnold, Phil Foden, Cole Palmer and Morgan Gibbs-White, I really do. But it was the wrong decision. Look at France. Their front 4 is Mbappe, Dembele, Barcola and Olise. On paper, that combination shouldn't work, but it does. Take your best players and find a way to make it work. That's literally why Tuchel was hired.

Shape up or Ship Out

England got a warning against Ghana that underperformance would be punished. They avoided a similar fate against Panama and just about avoided it today. But make no mistake about it, if they play like they have done in the last 3 games in the Azteca on Sunday night, they will be coming home. It's that simple. They are playing a side that simply doesn't lose at that stadium, are on home soil, have a frenzied fan base and have breezed through their opening 4 games of this World Cup without conceding a goal.

They will England's trickiest test so far by a long distance. The message to the players and management has to be quite simple at this point. Either shape up or you'll be heading home early next week.

Referee Assessment - 4

Dreadful. Gave a number of bizarre decisions and whilst I get the 2 sides of the argument on Kane's penalty shout, to not give it and then wait to see if VAR intervenes is baffling.

Management Assessment - 5

Unconvincing. They keep looking for the right winger combinations and their RB selections are a joke so far. They keep dancing with disaster and avoiding it, but will their luck hold much longer? Mexico, Brazil and then Argentine are their possible opponents. If they go out on Sunday, should they be let go?

Player Ratings

Jordan Pickford - 4

Has to save the DR Congo goal. He's been decent for England over his international career, but let's hope someone like James Trafford can step up and replace him in 2 years time.

Djed Spence - 5

I don't blame him for coming across and leaving Cipenga unmarked, but when a winger from the Spanish 2nd division is running rings around you, it doesn't bode well for your long term career at the top level.

Ezri Konsa - 4

I understand Stones isn't fully fit, but surely him alongside Guehi is a better option. Konsa has had a very shaky tournament.

Marc Guehi - 5

Not great either, but not as bad as Konsa. He too needs to step his game up.

Nico O'Reilly - 6

Lively going forward and did ok defensively.

Declan Rice - 5

He did well at RB when asked to cover, but he looked all at sea for the most part. Exhausted, not fit. It'll never happen, but is there an argument for dropping him and giving Mainoo a start or dropping Bellingham deeper alongside Anderson?

Elliott Anderson - 5

I don't think he's had a great tournament so far. He just feels sort of....there. He keeps things ticking along well enough, but he just feels a touch short of truly top drawer material.

Noni Madueke - 5

He was brighter today and almost force a goal through a moment of brilliance in the first half, but god he's so tough to watch. Again, what is he good at? What did Arsenal see to part with so much money for him?

Jude Bellingham - 6

He came close with 3 seperate chances, the 2nd of which he needs to be scoring. I get he's still young and has a lot of pressure on him, but the sulking attitude doesn't help.

Marcus Rashford - 5

Not good. Had one cleared off the line in the 1st half, but he accomplished little and that goal off the bench against Croatia feels a long time ago now. He needs to step up and produce.

Harry Kane - 9 MOTM

Cut a frustrated figure for the first 70 minutes of the game as he got little change from the DR Congo defence or the ref. But he stepped up as all captains should and got the 2 crucial goals to save his teams blushes.

Subs:

Anthony Gordon - 7

Came on and finally provided some much needed productivity, with him getting both assists on Kane's goals. The first was a lovely weighted cross. Does he get the nod on Sunday and if so, can he produce from the start?

Bukayo Saka - 5

Some nice touches, but he failed to add much.

Eberechi Eze - 5

Won a couple of fouls, but I failed to realise he'd even come on for a few minutes.

John Stones - N/A

Added late on, didn't have chance to contribute.

Overall Verdict

A wins a wins a win as they say. But it feels like only a matter of time before their poor performances catch up. The Azteca on Sunday night in front of 80,000 rabid Mexican fans is going to be some occasion though, it's what a proper World Cup should be. Let's see how they respond.