England beat the Democratic Republic of Congo 2-1 on Wednesday afternoon (1st), in Atlanta, in the 32nd round of the World Cup. The game showed difficulties for the British to overcome very prostrate defenses, just as had already happened against Panama.
But whoever has Harry Kane cannot be dismissed easily. His, the greatest English scorer in the history of the tournament, scored the equalizing and turning goals. Brian Cipenga did the one for the Democratic Republic of Congo.
England will face Mexico next Sunday (5), at 9pm. The winner of this match will face whoever stands out between Brazil and Norway in the quarterfinals, on Saturday (4).
On the field, Kane brought the entire team together and preached seriousness in the upcoming World Cup matches. “Celebrate this victory with the fans, in the dressing rooms, but then we will have to continue”, he said.
Afterwards, the players gathered in front of the fans and began to sing the song “Wonderwall”, by Oasis, with the fans. Kane was focused by the images in an excerpt that says “maybe it’s you who will save me”. Saved.
To FIFA, he said that the secret was to remain patient, despite the last games being similar — he considered this England’s best match in the tournament.
“We’re going to play away against Mexico. We’re in the tournament and we want to win, so we have to win every game,” he said.
Coach Thomas Tuchel praised the players’ ability to persevere despite the difficulties.
“The same thing, but we keep believing, we had the worst possible start and conceded a goal at the first opportunity. (…) We deservedly won, but we had to work hard”, he said.
There are still great expectations for the English Team in this World Cup, despite Thomas Tuchel’s choices, who left out players like Cole Palmer and Phil Foden. The strength would be in the group, according to his justifications, but the starting team seemed not to have found its place.
Djed Spence, for example, suffered a lot from Cipenga’s insinuating dribbles on the right flank. The goal came six minutes into the first half in an apparent defensive error. Chancel Mbemba sent the ball to the number 9, who dominated and shot hard to beat Jordan Pickford, although the ball looked defensible.
From then on, England tried to wake up. In the 29th minute, Jude Bellingham headed a good header after Declan Rice’s cross, but Lionel Mpasi was there to make the save. Six minutes later, Madueke crossed for Rashford, Wan-Bissaka was on the line to save the shot.
At 41, Wan-Bissaka crossed a good ball to Wissa, who seemed free to extend the score for the Democratic Republic of Congo, but hit the post. It would be up to Mpasi to save shots from Bellingham and Harry Kane to finish the first half.
Tuchel’s changes helped change the dynamic for the British, who were pressing to beat the Congolese lock. Madueke and Rashford, chosen as wingers, left for Bukayo Saka and Anthony Gordon. He also removed Spence and added Eberechi Eze to give more strength to the offensive sector.
Kane managed to beat Mpasi, who even touched the ball headed by the goalscorer, after Gordon’s cross in the 29th. From then on, it seemed like every ball belonged to England.
At 40, after Mpasi saved a strong shot from Bellingham, Gordon again found Harry Kane, this time with his back to the Congolese defense. The number 9 shook three defenders, pulled to the right and shot hard with a straight shot. This time, the Congolese goalkeeper didn’t even see the smell.
With his good performance, Harry Kane reached 13 goals in the history of the World Cup, tied with Just Fontaine, having surpassed Pelé. He has five in this edition of the tournament, equal to Erling Haaland, and behind Kylian Mbappé and Lionel Messi.
