England rallied from a deficit to defeat DR Congo 2-1 on Wednesday, advancing to the Round of 16 in the 2026 World Cup. The victory came courtesy of two late goals from captain Harry Kane.
DR Congo took an early lead in the seventh minute with a goal from Brian Cipenga. England struggled to gain control of the match for much of the first half, with coach making tactical substitutions including replacing Djed Spence with Eberechi Eze to bolster the offense. DR Congo's goalkeeper Lionel Mpasi made five saves on seven shots on goal.
The match turned in the 75th minute when Kane scored his first goal, equalizing for England. He added a second goal in the 86th minute to secure the win. With these goals, Kane surpassed Brazilian legend Pelé in total World Cup goals, bringing his tally to 13. He has now scored 20 goals in major international tournaments and holds the national record with 84 goals in 117 appearances.
England played without left back Reece James, who was sidelined with a hamstring injury. The team will now travel to Mexico City to face host nation Mexico on July 5. Mexico has advanced through the tournament without conceding a goal, winning their first four matches by a combined score of 8-0.
DR Congo, who earned their first-ever World Cup win against Uzbekistan earlier in the tournament, made a strong showing. "There's a war in East Congo," said DR Congo's Yoane Wissa before the game. "Every day, every time we wear this shirt, we think about them. Because we want peace and for them, I just say, 'Thank you'. Thank you because we came from far. We came from nothing to be here. Now we write our story with a black pen and we need to be proud."