Kane turns panic into progress in seven frantic minutes
England had barely settled into a World Cup knockout tie when Atlanta stopped feeling like a formality. In the seventh minute Brian Cipenga drilled a low shot past Jordan Pickford at his near post, DR Congo's bench emptied onto the touchline, and a stadium that had priced in a procession suddenly smelled an upset. For 68 minutes the Three Lions chased a leveler that never came, Lionel Mpasi repelling wave after wave until Harry Kane, fed twice by Anthony Gordon, scored in the 75th and 86th minutes to seal a 2-1 win that looked routine on the bracket and brutal on the pitch.
The result sends Thomas Tuchel's side to the Azteca Stadium on Monday 6 July for a Round of 16 meeting with co-hosts Mexico. DR Congo fly home with their first World Cup win in this same building still fresh in the memory, a draw with Portugal in the group, and a seventh-minute lead that made England sweat through a night Germany and the Netherlands would have traded places to avoid.
Cipenga's opener exposed England's right flank
Sebastien Desabre's Leopards did not treat the tie as a courtesy. They had already beaten Uzbekistan 3-1 in Mercedes-Benz Stadium for their first World Cup victory since 1974, and they pressed England's reshuffled right from the first whistle.
The goal began with Chancel Mbemba carrying the ball out of defence and threading a pass into the box. The ball skipped over Djed Spence and sat for Cipenga, who struck hard and low before Pickford could fully set. England spent the rest of the half with territory and volume, roughly 60 percent possession and 16 shots to DR Congo's seven by full time, but Mpasi stood between them and an equaliser. Jude Bellingham saw one deflected effort kept out. Kane probed without finding the release. At the interval the scoreboard still read 0-1, and the Leopards had reminded everyone why they took four points from a group that included Portugal and Colombia.
Gordon and Kane rewrote the script after the break
Tuchel's response was measured rather than chaotic. Marcus Rashford and Noni Madueke made way for Anthony Gordon and Bukayo Saka in the 61st minute, a double change that sharpened the width without tearing up the shape. Eberechi Eze replaced Spence shortly after, another sign that fresh legs were required against a side with nothing to lose.
The hydration break seemed to reset the tempo. Gordon collected Declan Rice's overhit cross from the left, lifted it back across goal, and Kane escaped Axel Tuanzebe to head beyond Mpasi in the 75th minute. Relief washed through the white shirts. Eleven minutes later the same partnership finished the job: Gordon slipped Kane in on the edge of the box, the captain turned and drilled high into the net for 2-1.
Kane's brace took his World Cup tally to 13 goals and kept him clear as England's record scorer at the tournament. DR Congo could not find a second equaliser. Yoane Wissa and Fiston Mayele, so clinical against Uzbekistan, were contained after Cipenga made way in the 76th minute.
The numbers behind a narrow escape
Expected-goals tracking put England at roughly 2.04 xG to DR Congo's 0.76, with seven big chances created and six missed. That is the profile of a team that should have won, and did, but only after 83 minutes of friction.
Mpasi was the reason it stayed tight for so long. England's pressure built in waves, corners stacked up, and still the tie felt live until Kane's header broke the dam. DR Congo's threat never vanished entirely. Cipenga's early strike hung over every phase like a warning that knockout football punishes slow starts.
Declan Rice's return stabilised midfield, Gordon's impact off the bench was decisive, and Kane once again proved why ties like this still run through a No. 9 who scores when the room gets small. The right side, reshuffled after Reece James and Jarell Quansah missed out, was where DR Congo found their joy in the first half. That is a note England will carry into Mexico City.
What comes next
The bracket now sends England to the Azteca for a Round of 16 meeting with Mexico, a co-host riding national emotion and a home crowd that turns every knockout tie into a referendum on pride. After Atlanta, Tuchel's squad will not need reminding that paper means little once the whistle blows.
DR Congo leave with heads high: a draw with Portugal, a famous win in this stadium, and a seventh-minute lead that made England sweat. For the Three Lions, the night ended with Kane's name on the scoresheet twice and a place in the last 16 secured the hard way. In a tournament already defined by shocks, that may be exactly the kind of scare that keeps a contender honest.
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