Harry Kane scored two second-half goals to rescue England from an embarrassing early World Cup exit, securing a 2-1 comeback victory over DR Congo in the round of 32 in Atlanta. The win, England's second ever at the World Cup after conceding the first goal, earned the 1966 champions a spot in the Round of 16 against co-hosts Mexico at the iconic Azteca Stadium.
Kane Delivers Heroic Performance
Kane, who now has 13 World Cup goals—the most by an English player in tournament history—and 84 goals overall for the national team, said after the match: "It was just about pounding the rock, keep pounding the rock and our moment would come." He added, "We spoke about people having hero moments. It can be anyone in the team. Whoever it is, we have hero moments, and for me it was the day."
England's only other World Cup victory after trailing 1-0 came in the 1966 final against West Germany at Wembley Stadium. Kane made sure history repeated itself by extending his record as his country's leading scorer in tournament history to 13.
Comeback Goals
Kane's first goal arrived in the 75th minute. Substitute Anthony Gordon lifted a cross from the left, and despite Congo goalkeeper Lionel Mpasi getting a hand to Kane's header, he could not stop it from nestling into the bottom corner. Eleven minutes later, Kane sent his shot ripping into the top corner to put the thoughts of an upset to rest.
"When you get to the knockouts, the pressure and the risks are so much higher. But from an attacking point of view, that was easily our best game of the tournament," Kane said. "Sometimes you just have to grind wins out and we did exactly that today. I told the boys to enjoy it. We're through, and we go again in four days."
Controversial Penalty Denied
There was controversy late in the first half when Kane was denied a penalty after he managed to get the ball past the Congo keeper but appeared to have his legs taken out. VAR did look at the incident but declared that Kane had taken a dive, sparking disbelief from Kane and outrage from England observers.
England manager Thomas Tuchel was blunt about it after the match: "We should have had a penalty." While England great Michael Owen said: "What chance have you got? If that's not a penalty on Kane I don't know what is. Absolute disgrace."
However, former Premier League referee Graham Scott said: "Harry Kane only has himself to blame; by dragging his left foot into the onrushing goalkeeper, he created doubt in the referee's mind, and his penalty claim was waved away. Kane goes to great lengths to ensure that contact occurs, plants both feet on the ground and falls theatrically – all clues to the referee that the England striker was having him on."
Congo's Early Lead
Brian Cipenga had put Congo in the lead in the seventh minute after collecting a cross on the left of the box and shooting low past England goalkeeper Jordan Pickford at the near post. Congo coach Sebastien Desabre said: "We're disappointed because we really believed we could do it. We played well. Towards the end of the match, we conceded two chances and one of the world's best players scored two goals against us. It's a shame."
