The end result of England finishing atop their World Cup group was not a surprise.
The process, though, left something to be desired.
England look to carry over how they finished the group stage when their pursuit of their first World Cup title in 60 years ramps up in the knockout stage. Their journey starts Wednesday in Atlanta against a team at the opposite end of the experience spectrum in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The Three Lions finished atop Group L after going unbeaten in group play for the fifth time in their last seven World Cup appearances.
But after England scored four times in their opener vs. Croatia, they were held scoreless for more than 150 minutes across their final two matches before scoring twice in the final 30 minutes versus Panama to win the group at seven points.
“We know what we need to get better and we will get better,” England manager Thomas Tuchel said after the Panama win. “There’s no problem in putting the work in and growing into a tournament like this with difficult opponents to overcome. It is important now we keep believing, keep focusing on what we can influence.”
The saving grace for England has been veteran forward Harry Kane, who scored three of their six group-stage goals and became England’s all-time leading World Cup scorer when he delivered the 11th of his career versus Panama to pass Gary Lineker.
The Three Lions, though, will be depleted in the back for their knockout opener. Right back Reece James, who sustained a hamstring injury versus Ghana, and his replacement, Jarell Quansah, who twisted his ankle in the Panama match, did not practice on Tuesday and were ruled out for the round of 32.
While England have qualified for 11 of the last 12 World Cups and reached the knockouts seven of the last eight times, DR Congo are playing in their first knockout match as part of their first World Cup appearance in 52 years.
That 1974 team, playing for a country known as Zaire at the time, went 0-3-0 and were outscored 14-0.
This team opened with a stunning draw of Portugal and then rallied past Uzbekistan for a 3-1 victory in their group-stage finale to advance.
While he’s certainly not of Kane’s prominence, DR Congo have their own prolific scorer in Yoane Wissa. He scored the country’s first World Cup goal versus Portugal and added two of their three second-half goals against Uzbekistan to amass three of their four scores during group play.
“We need to enjoy this kind of game,” Wissa told reporters this week. “We deserve to play against England, one of the best teams in the world, so I’m looking forward to what’s coming next.”
It’s unlikely England needed a reminder about the dangers of facing a seemingly overmatched team. But if they did, that’s just what Germany’s loss to Paraguay provided Monday.
That motivates Tuchel not to look ahead — even if some outside the team are — to a potential round of 16 clash with Mexico in Mexico City.
“If we get carried away and start talking and thinking about possible round of 16, we will just get punished,” Tuchel said when asked about the subject. “… We have a difficult, difficult match coming up in four days. I understand your question and would love to talk about it, but no, we need to stay focused. There is only one match in four days. It’s not Mexico, it’s not in Mexico, it’s in Atlanta and we need to be ready for that.”
–Field Level Media
