England's Knockout Challenge: A Test Against DR Congo
England step into the knockout glare on Wednesday night knowing the questions haven’t gone away. They’ve only grown louder.
Top of Group L, unbeaten, and yet still under scrutiny, the Three Lions arrive at the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta with a simple task that feels anything but: show that this collection of star names can finally look like a ruthless tournament side when it matters most. DR Congo, the highest-ranked of the third-place qualifiers, are not here to make up the numbers.
This is jeopardy territory now. One bad night and the debate about wasted talent will rage all summer.
Right-back roulette and Tuchel’s big call
The build-up has been dominated by a single position. Right-back has turned into a revolving door.
Reece James, expected to be a pillar of this side, missed the Panama game with a hamstring problem and now appears out of the tournament. Jarell Quansah, the surprise understudy who impressed before rolling his ankle in that same match, is struggling to make it back in time.
Thomas Tuchel called Quansah’s issue “a matter of days” after the final whistle in New Jersey, but this is knockout football. There is no appetite for gambles on half-fit defenders with the margin for error shrinking.
So the responsibility drops onto Djed Spence. Thrown on against Panama, now likely thrust into a World Cup last-32 start. It’s a sharp escalation in stakes, but England have little choice. The rest of the back four stays familiar: Ezri Konsa and Marc Guehi at centre-back, Nico O’Reilly continuing on the left, with Jordan Pickford the immovable presence in goal.
Rice returns, Bellingham drives, Kane hunts
If the defence is patched up, midfield brings a different mood. Relief.
Declan Rice is back. Rested against Panama to protect the calf he tweaked in the draw with Ghana, the Arsenal midfielder is expected to walk straight back into the XI. His presence changes the temperature of this England side. With Rice anchoring alongside Elliot Anderson, the team regains its balance, its bite, and its passing rhythm. Kobbie Mainoo, bright in flashes so far, must wait his turn again from the bench.
Ahead of them, Jude Bellingham continues to carry the aura of a player built for these stages. Stationed in the No 10 role, he has been England’s most decisive figure of the tournament, turning tight moments against Croatia and Panama into turning points. When England have needed clarity, he has supplied it.
On the flanks, there is both concern and trust. Bukayo Saka is still nursing the Achilles problem that shadowed his club season at Arsenal, but the expectation is he starts on the right once more. The staff know he is not at full throttle, yet his intelligence and end product remain too valuable to ignore.
Opposite him, Marcus Rashford keeps his place on the left. The competition from Anthony Gordon is real, but Rashford’s work in the group stage has been enough to hold the shirt for now. His direct running offers a different kind of threat, one that can stretch a DR Congo side likely to sit deep and wait for their moments.
Then there is Harry Kane. Three goals in the group stage, eyes fixed on the Golden Boot again, and still the focal point of everything England try to construct. He leads the line, of course he does. In matches like this, his penalty-box composure and penalty-spot nerve often draw the line between routine progress and another post-mortem.
A tricky opponent, a restless fanbase
DR Congo will not be treated lightly inside the England camp. Finishing as the best of the third-placed sides, they arrive with enough quality and organisation to punish any lapse. England’s group-stage performances, though effective on paper, did little to calm the sense that this team can drift, that it can leave doors ajar.
That’s the challenge in Atlanta: close the door, control the game, and show a sharper edge in both boxes.
Tuchel’s likely XI spells out his intentions. A 4-2-3-1 that leans heavily on its central core:
Pickford; Spence, Konsa, Guehi, O’Reilly; Anderson, Rice; Saka, Bellingham, Rashford; Kane.
The structure is clear. The names are big. The question is whether the performance finally matches the potential.
Under the lights in Atlanta
Kick-off comes at 17:00 BST on Wednesday, 1 July 2026, with BBC One and BBC iPlayer carrying every second back home. It is the kind of occasion England have seen too often: a last-32 tie they are expected to win, a path to the last 16 laid out in front of them.
Expectation is not the issue. It never is with this team.
What matters now is whether, under the roof in Atlanta, this version of England looks like a side ready to go deep into a World Cup – or one still trying to work out what it wants to be.
