Thomas Tuchel has vowed that England will rise to the challenge of the World Cup knockouts and bring their best game, and their first test arrives on Wednesday in Atlanta in the form of a Congo DR side that has mastered the art of brinkmanship.
Sébastien Desabre’s men were one of two sides, the other being Iraq, to qualify via the FIFA World Cup Inter-continental playoffs. Congo DR got there by finishing second to Senegal in their qualifying group, and then beating Cameroon and Nigeria in Africa’s playoffs.
Congo DR sealed their World Cup spot with a 1-0 extra-time win over Jamaica, courtesy of Axel Tuanzebe‘s 100th-minute winner.
Les Léopards once again found themselves on the brink of elimination during the World Cup group stage. They began their campaign in style with a 1-1 draw against Portugal, as Yoane Wissa cancelled out João Neves’ opener. However, a 1-0 loss to Colombia left them hanging on by a thread.
Once again, it was a case of cometh the hour, cometh the men, as Congo DR rose to the challenge and beat Uzbekistan 3-1, coming back from 1-0 down. Wissa scored twice before a Fiston Mayele strike sealed the win and progress to the round of 32.
Date: Wednesday, July 1 at 12 p.m. in Atlanta (5 p.m. BST & WAT, 6 p.m. CAT)
Venue: Atlanta Stadium (otherwise known as Mercedes-Benz Stadium), Atlanta
How to watch: The match will be on BBC One for UK-based viewers, while RTNC holds broadcasting rights in Congo DR.
SuperSport hold rights for much of Sub-Saharan Africa, while Sporty TV is a streaming option and New World TV and beIN SPORTS are other key World Cup broadcasters in various parts of the continent.
FOX holds English-language broadcasting rights in the USA. The game will be available on Zee5 in India and SBS in Australia.
Referee: Jordanian referee Adham Makhadmeh will oversee this fixture.
England have a problem on their hands at right-back, with Reece James and Jarell Quansah doubtful due to injury and Tino Livramento out of the tournament. Thomas Tuchel omitted Trent Alexander-Arnold from his World Cup squad, leaving the Three Lions light on options in that position.
England
GK Jordan Pickford LB Nico O’Reilly | CB Marc Guéhi | CB Ezri Konsa | RB Djed Spence
CM Elliot Anderson | CM Declan Rice
LW Marcus Rashford | AM Jude Bellingham | RW Bukayo Saka
ST Harry Kane
Congo DR
GK Lionel Mpasi-Nzau
LB Arthur Masuaku | CB Axel Tuanzebe | CB Chancel Mbemba | RB Aaron Wan-Bissaka
LM Brian Cipenga | CM Samuel Moutoussamy | CM Noah Sadiki | RM Nathanaël Mbuku
ST Fiston Mayele | ST Yoane Wissa
Congo DR earned all four of their group stage points at this World Cup by coming back from losing positions.
England have picked up five wins and four draws from their nine World Cup matches against African opponents, but suffered their first defeat to An African team in any context last year in June, when Senegal beat them 3-1.