England survived a serious scare in the World Cup round of 32 as Harry Kane, once again dug his team out of a hole with a brace to get the better of Congo DR.
Brian Cipenga put the cat among the pigeons when he opened the scoring at Jordan Pickford's near post, finding space in a disorganised England back line, as the DRC keeper Lionel Mpasi made a number of superb saves.
But Kane headed in from an Anthony Gordon cross to spare England's blushes, before a world-class finish from the edge of the area sent him clear of Pelé in the all time World Cup goalscoring charts -- and booked his side a last 16 clash against Mexico.
Here's how ESPN rated the players after this knockout clash.
Manager rating (out of 10)
Thomas Tuchel, 7 -- Didn't waste any time making his substitutions with the introduction of Anthony Gordon and Bukayo Saka on the hour mark -- as well as sacrificing some defensive cover by swapping Djed Spence for Eberechi Eze when England were chasing their goal. The decision worked out for him, though, with all three of them contributing to the equaliser and Gordon finishing the night with two assists. His hydration break remonstrations in both halves proved effective -- as England turned the screw from the 70th minute to overpower Congo DR.
Player ratings (1-10; 10 = best, 5 = average)
GK Jordan Pickford, 5 -- Beaten at this near post early on, and would not have been happy with that. Did not have much to do in the second half as England took charge.
RB Djed Spence, 3 -- Brian Cipenga turned in and scored on Spence's patch -- though his work was cut out: with his colleague Konsa caught unaware by the ball across the area, forcing Spence to step across.
CB Ezri Konsa, 5 -- At the centre of a shaky defence which was breached just eight minutes in -- and his ball watching allowed Cipenga to get into space. Beaten by Yoane Wissa who could have made it two in the first half, but marshalled him well in the second 45.
CB Marc Guéhi, 6 - The whole back line was asleep for Congo's opener, but didn't find himself beaten afterwards, and didn't let Cedric Bukambu get the better of him on the break.
LB Nico O'Reilly, 5 -- Did not stop running and had little trouble in his one-on-one situations when defending. Didn't make much happen on the overlap, though.
CM Elliot Anderson, 6 -- Worked hard in the middle of the pitch and offered some cover to the shaky defence. Never ran out of steam and played a delicate through ball to Bellingham which resulted in Kane's second after the initial effort was saved.
CM Declan Rice, 6 -- Looked slightly laboured in the first half but didn't make any errors. Forced to move to right-back after Eze's introduction -- he looked comfortable there, which perhaps isn't a great reflection on the country's situation in the position.
CM Jude Bellingham, 6 -- Recovered from early frustration which saw him booked for a rash tackle. He worked Mpasi into multiple excellent saves, and will be wondering how none of his shots ended up in the back of the net.
RW Noni Madueke, 5 -- Fairly smart in the first half and created a couple of chances, though he struggled one-on-one and was largely stifled by Arthur Masuaku.
ST Harry Kane, 9 -- Who else was it going to be to rescued the Three Lions? Quiet for long spells during this one and didn't get it to feet, but the movement for his equaliser was spot on, heading home to move clear of Pelé in tournament history. His second was even better -- getting the ball on the turn and beating three on the edge of the area before unleashing an absolute rocket into the top right. World class.
LW Marcus Rashford, 4 -- Had Aaron Wan-Bissaka's number on a couple of occasions one-on-one but finishing eluded him and his crosses weren't good enough. Replaced by Gordon on the hour mark.
Substitutes (players introduced after 75 minutes = no rating)
Bukayo Saka, 6 -- Fresh legs on the hour mark, and his quality on the cross contributed to England's first. Unafraid to take on his man and get to the byline.
Anthony Gordon, 8 -- Brought on with half an hour to play, and delivers two assists. Showed real quality in the final third with a cross that found Kane for the equaliser, before laying him in for the second. Job done off the bench with a fresh skillset.
Eberechi Eze, 7 -- His Arsenal-fuelled linkup with Saka and Rice on the right hand side set up the England equaliser. Offered a fresh dynamic in midfield.
John Stones, n/a -- No errors when brought on in stoppage time to see things out.
