Kane rescues England: 2-1 over DR Congo and overtakes Pelé

What a fright the Three Lions got! England came from behind to beat DR Congo 2-1 in Atlanta and book their spot in the round of 16, but they had a torrid time against a DR Congo side that came agonisingly close to pulling off the upset in their first-ever World Cup knockout match. It took a Harry Kane in rescue mode to save them from embarrassment.

The match. Tuchel's gameplan fell apart in the 7th minute: a long ball from Mbemba was collected by Brian Cipenga, who slipped through and caught Pickford at the near post. 0-1 and the alarm bells were ringing. England dominated possession but kept crashing into a brick wall—Bellingham had chances, Rashford had one cleared off the line—and on top of that, goalkeeper Mpasi produced some stunning saves. The Leopards, with Wissa even hitting the post, were sniffing the shock of the century.

Then the captain appeared. Just when things looked darkest, Kane put on his big-game boots. With just over a quarter of an hour left, he headed home a cross from substitute Gordon for 1-1, and in the 86th minute he finished it off with a stunning long-range strike into the top corner for 2-1. With those two goals, the captain reaches 13 World Cup goals and surpasses none other than Pelé on the all-time list. That's something else.

What's next. England face co-hosts Mexico in the round of 16, at the Azteca itself. DR Congo, playing their first World Cup knockout tie since competing as Zaire back in 1974, exit the tournament but with their heads held high: they turned one of the tournament favourites inside out.

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