3 min readJul 1, 2026 11:36 PM IST
First published on: Jul 1, 2026 at 09:51 PM IST
DR Congo’s Brian Cipenga’s first half strike was cancelled out by Harry Kane in the 75th minute before the England captain scored again in the 86th minute as the Three Lions won the Round of 32 encounter on Wednesday. Anthony Gordon was the provider on both occasions.
Earlier, Cipenga fired the African nation into the lead after just 7 minutes. Djed Spence failed to judge a ball coming in from the right which went over his head and found Cipenga who made no mistakes in shooting the ball past England keeper Jordan Pickford’s near post.
Jude Bellingham came close in the 30th minute to an equalizer but his header was expertly saved by Congo goalie Lionel Mpasi. Marcus Rashford also came close in the 35th minute but hsi strike was cleared off the goal line by a Congo defender.
Congo almost doubled their lead after a Wan Bissaka cross was met by Yoane Wissa whose shot just rattled the post and went out for a goal kick. On the other side, Bellingham was denied once again by the Congo goalie who pushed out a header from his near post.
Ahead of the match, injuries had been mounting for England, which is missing its first- and second-choice right backs for the round of 32 game against Congo.
Reece James is out with a hamstring injury and backup Jarrell Quansah twisted his ankle in England’s 2-0 win over Panama on Saturday.
It could see Djed Spence move over from the left to cover, but coach Thomas Tuchel is confident James and Quansah will both soon return — so long as England can advance beyond Congo.
“They’re getting closer and closer,” Tuchel said. “The race was close even to make it into my squad this time. So we need to make sure that we have more matches. That is the main focus, and then that will be very soon.”
Congo is playing in the knockout round of the World Cup for the first time. It already held Portugal to a 1-1 draw in the group stage and beat Uzbekistan to advance.
“It is true we are looking at a difficult match, but in no way insurmountable. We have proven this against teams that were supposed to be superior to us, that we could actually put in a good performance,” Congo coach Sébastien Desabre said. “So we are focusing on our strengths, we are walking our path and once you get to this point in the competition, it’s difficult for everyone.”
Bukayo Saka, who came into the tournament carrying an injury, is fit to start, Tuchel said.
Starting lineups:
England: Jordan Pickford, Ezri Konsa, Nico O’Reilly, Marc Guehi, Djed Spence, Declan Rice, Elliot Anderson, Jude Bellingham, Harry Kane, Marcus Rashford, Noni Madueke
DR Congo: Lionel Mpasi, Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Axel Tuanzebe, Chancel Mbemba, Arthur Masuaku, Ngalayel Mukau, Nathanael Mbuku, Samuel Moutoussamy, Noah Sadiki, Brian Cipenga, Yoane Wissa
England's Harry Kane (9) scores his side's first goal against Congo during the World Cup round of 32 soccer match in Atlanta, Wednesday, July 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Erik S. Lesser) 
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