The England captain and Bayern Munich striker, Harry Kane delivered an incredible performance at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in July 1, 2026 against DR Congo. This has undeniably helped the Three Lions win 2-1 against DR Congo national team.
England struggle against Congo in the first half but secures Round of 16 in their second half
Despite Brian Cipenga's early goal for DR Congo in the 7th minute, The three-lions kept on attacking with strong ambitions. Unfortunately, it wasn't easy for the England side to score a goal in the first half. DR Congo players kept a disciplined defensive ball with a rare big chance missed by Yoane Wissa which could have doubled the lead to two goals in the first half.
The Lille OSC left back, Mbemba, who plays for DR Congo had a massive performance against England attack in the first half. DR Congo goal keeper, Lionel Mpasi-Nzau made impressive saves to deny the three-lions a goal until the late 20 minutes of the game where things turned around for the DR Congo. He was unable to safe 75th and 86th shots from Kane.
Barcelona new signing, Anthony Gordon assists twice to help England win
Anthony Gordon, the former Newcastle Left winger and who has signed with FC Barcelona recently came from the bench to safe England. With Marcus Rashford poor performance today, England manager, Thomas Tuchel substituted him for Gordon in 70th minute. Tuchel's substitutions worked well for the team, with Noni Madueke coming off for Bukayo Saka too.
The last 25 minutes was pure magic for Three Lions and especially for Gordon who brilliantly delivered crucial assists to Kane for both goals.
We can't rule out DR Congo's defensive play but 90 minutes were too many for that. England showcased determination in the final minutes and yes, the opponents, DR Congo who seemed tired and pressured while defending surely allowed Harry Kane win for England.
Kane and Declan Rice in post match interview
The Arsenal and England midfielder praised how Kane is good captain. "That is not normal, Kane has 72 goals this 2025/2026 season," he added.
In the post match interview, Kane didn't hesitate to say that the 2-1 comeback was a 'hero moment'. "We had patience and optimism that our moment would come...," the captain said.
Match analysis
Opta analyst reports that before the match, the Three Lions had a 73% win probability following Super Computer predictions. The win rate has surely passed although DR Congo proved to be tough opponents.
England vs DR Congo match stats
According to Opta analyst, England had the highest ball possession of 60%, recording 16 goal attempts. To the opponents, DR Congo had 40% ball possession with 7 goal attempts.
Harry Kane in the World Cup golden boot campaign
With two goals today for England national team, Kane has five goals in 2026 world cup knockout stages. This is after scoring two goals against Croatia in group stages and one against Panama. He's now in the Ballon d'or ranking after having an amazing season with Bayern Munich where he helped the team win both Bundesliga and DFB Pokal trophy.
Kane has also entered into World Cup golden boot campaign. With Lionel Messi and Real Madrid forward, Kylian Mbappe both having 6 goals so far in 2026 world cup, Harry Kane takes the second position together with Norway forward, Erling Haaland with 5 goals.
Kane in top 6 World Cup all the time scorers
After tonight's great performance for the England star, he has now 11 goals and position six in all the time World Cup scorers. He's now one goal to tie the great Pele who has 12 and only 6 goals from Lionel Messi who is at the top of the ranking.
Three Lions vs the host, Mexico
With their win today, Three Lions will now face Mexico in the round of 16 at Azteca Stadium. Football fans are in anticipation of more goals from Harry Kane, after his fantastic stats today. Do you see Kane's England knocking out Mexico or they'll be outpreformed?
READ ALSO:
Written by: John Muia (Founder and Editor)
John Muia is the founder and Editor in InstandTrend. The Journalist is experienced with skills in creative writing, news coverage and fact-checking in digital and print media.