Thomas Tuchel’s mission to put a second World Cup star on the England shirt did not look as though it would reach the second knockout round. On a fraught and chaotic occasion in Atlanta, his team flirted aggressively with disaster. For 75 minutes, England mixed loose defending with an inability to take their chances. Which were plentiful. The Democratic Republic of the Congo goalkeeper, Lionel Mpasi, had the game of his life. Who needs Lionel Messi.
It was easy for England’s long-suffering fans to feel their minds being taken to dark places. Iceland 2016, anyone? They had only ever lost once to an African team – to Senegal in a friendly in June of last year. The DRC, who have brought the romance to this tournament, a team to unite a war-torn nation, led through Brian Cipenga’s seventh-minute goal. They were primed to do something utterly extraordinary.
At which point Harry Kane decided that enough was enough. The England captain was not ready to go home, to be buried under an avalanche of awful headlines. He kept the faith. If he could get another chance, he told himself he would take it.
It was some rescue act from Kane because he scored not once but twice to shatter the DRC. The first was the one to bring the relief, a close-range header from a cross from a substitute, Anthony Gordon. When it went in, England knew that it would be their day after all. The DRC had nothing left. The second, lashed high into the net from an angle to the right of goal, was the moment to ensure England’s passage to a last-16 tie against Mexico at the Azteca Stadium on Sunday.
It is fair to say the venue has a few ghosts for England. They can be happy that they still have the possibility to chase them away. Thank goodness for Kane, who has five goals in the tournament. It was only England’s ninth World Cup knockout round victory since 1966 and, boy, did they do it the hard way. It was not a performance that suggested they will be around here for much longer. They will tell themselves that the result was everything.
The pressure belonged to Tuchel and England and the day was always going to be defined by how they handled it. The early signs could not have been worse, the early Cipenga goal the stuff of nightmares from an England point of view. The DRC captain, Chancel Mbemba, had crossed from the inside right and he appeared to be looking for Noah Sadiki, who bolted towards the penalty area.
The England central defenders were horribly out of position, drawn towards the ball, and the right-back, Djed Spence, felt he had to engage with Sadiki. When the ball drifted over both of them, Cipenga was all alone on the far side, able to control and drill inside Jordan Pickford’s near post. It was a bad look for the goalkeeper. It was even worse one for England as a collective.
The first hydration break came at a good time for England because they could feel their hearts hammering. They were unable to slow them. Any notion of composure was absent. Jude Bellingham was in danger of overheating. He was booked for a reckless lunge on Nathanael Mbuku while he threw his arms up in dismay after overhitting a pass for Marcus Rashford. Reece James, the injured England substitute, sought to calm Bellingham down.
England needed to calm down. They had to cut out the errors on the ball, of which there were many. They needed to get a grip on Mbuku, who was a menace off the right wing. And Cipenga on the other side. Spence had little cover against him.
England ran on adrenaline. They created a fistful of chances leading up the interval and it was a mystery how they did not score, although a part of the answer lay in the resistance of Mpasi in the DRC goal. He made a series of excellent saves; two to keep out Bellingham headers, one to stop a Kane volley. Axel Tuanzebe made a saving challenge to thwart Kane. Rashford had a shot cleared off the line by Aaron Wan-Bissaka.
Controversy flared in the 43rd minute when Kane charged through, got a touch to the ball and was cleaned out by Mpasi. It was a stonewall penalty but the referee, Adham Makhadmeh, decided that the England captain had played too readily for the contact. There was no VAR intervention. England remained all over the place at the back. They had been fortunate that Yoane Wissa touched against the outside of the post shortly before the Kane penalty appeal following a deflected Wan-Bissaka cross.
Tuchel had expected a low block spoiling approach from the DRC. It did not really happen. They got on the front foot at the outset and were more 4-3-3 than 4-5-1. They believed they could hurt an England defence that has been far too accommodating and remained that way here. It was remarkable to see how many gaps England left.
Tuchel had preached patience. He preached it some more at half-time. His feeling? England would eventually score. The sheer weight of chances would tell. England pushed after the restart. Rashford worked a good opening only to drag past the near post; Bellingham saw a deflected cross almost catch out Mpasi.
The England supporters inside this futuristic venue were tested – by Rashford, in particular. There were boos for him when he overhit a cross just before the hour. Tuchel would hook him shortly afterwards, together with Noni Madueke. On came Bukayo Saka and Gordon.
Tuchel went for broke when he introduced Eberechi Eze for Spence, and asked Declan Rice to move to right-back. The move came up trumps. It was Eze to Rice up the right and when he crossed, it was too deep. Yet Gordon chased down the loose ball and when he stood it back up, Kane had bought the space for the header. This time, Mpasi could not save his team.
It was as if a weight was lifted from England’s shoulders. Bellingham burst through only to shoot rather than square for Saka. But again, Gordon recycled. And when he fed Kane, it was just a supreme finish from the supreme finisher – a dart away from two defenders and a vicious rising drive. England stagger on.
