England 2-1 DR Congo: Harry Kane To The Rescue

With a quarter of an hour left to go, it looked as though England were dead and buried, with the prospect of elimination feeling ever more likely, until cometh the man cometh the hour, Harry Kane steps up for England once again.

You would have struggled to imagine a much worse start to this match for England, with the Three Lions finding themselves one-nil down inside the opening seven minutes following an inspired strike from Brian Cipenga, whose shot was able just to squeeze its way through the arms of Jordan Pickford.

For the following hour, it was beginning to feel like the writing was on the wall for England, with the team once again struggling to create any real chances of note against the low block of the DR Congo, and with time running out, elimination began to feel inevitable.

However, the substitutions made by Thomas Tuchel on the hour mark is where England really began to burst into life. With Rashford and Madueke making way for Gordon and Saka, England instantly looked more of a threat, with it not taking long before Gordon was able to deliver a delicious ball towards the six-yard box, which Harry Kane was then able to latch onto and level things up in Atlanta.

With minutes left to go, it looked as though England were gonna be heading for extra time, with Three Lions starting to pose more of a threat in the game.

That was, of course, until Harry Kane stepped up once again to deliver an emphatic strike into the roof of the net after Anthony Gordon was able to find the feet of the England Captain once more, in what proved to be an inspired substitution by Thomas Tuchel.

Same Old Story For England

Although England were just able to survive by the skin of their teeth following a rough 90 minutes, a lot of the same issues were still on display for The Three Lions.

After finding themselves one-nil down inside the first seven minutes, it began to feel like Groundhog Day for England, with the team going on to struggle to create any real chances for the following hour against the Congaliese low block.

However, it appeared that manager Thomas Tuchel was able to learn from England's previous fixtures and made two changes on the hour mark that were able to make the difference for England, with Anthony Gordon coming on to assist both of Harry Kane's goals as England went on to turn the game around. 

Despite facing the same problems that seemed to have plagued the Three Lions all tournament, Tuchel's in-game management and decision to change can be highlighted as the main factor as to how England were able to turn this game around, that and a certain centre foward.

Harry Kane Delivers Again

After facing heavy criticism over the years during his career in an England shirt, often being accused of failing to show up in the big moments for his country, Harry Kane was once again able to silence his critics tonight as he essentially single-handedly dragged England through to the Round of 16, with two excellent finishes.

With the Bayern number nine now recording both his 4th and 5th goals of the tournament so far today, Kane will surely have his sights set on another World Cup Golden Boot, now only trailing both Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe by one goal.

With Mexico now awaiting England in the Last 16, although it is set to be another tough game for the Three Lions in the Azteca, with El Tri only losing two of their 88 competitive matches at the fortress, Kane will fancy himself to find himself on the scoresheet again, as England look to take the next step on their journey to glory.