Once again, the World Cup misfortune of England, the "home of football," seemed set to continue. The team fell behind early in the first half to the Democratic Republic of the Congo and failed to break open the opponent's goal even past the midpoint of the second half. One of the biggest upsets in World Cup history looked possible. But England had Harry Kane (Bayern Munich), the world's finest goal scorer. Kane struck twice in a row in the second half, pulling his country out of the mire of defeat.
England, ranked fourth by FIFA, came from a goal down to win 2-1 in the round of 32 at the 2026 North America World Cup, held at Atlanta Stadium in Georgia on June 2 (Korean time), riding the performance of Kane, who scored two goals against the Democratic Republic of the Congo (ranked 41st).
England, chasing the World Cup trophy for the first time in 60 years since winning on home soil in 1966, will face co-host Mexico (ranked 10th) at Mexico City Stadium on the morning of June 6 for a spot in the quarterfinals.
England conceded the opening goal to Brian Cipenga (Almeria) in just the seventh minute of the first half. They relentlessly attacked the Democratic Republic of the Congo's goal in search of an equalizer. Led by lone striker Kane, Marcus Rashford (Barcelona), Jude Bellingham (Real Madrid) and Noni Madueke (Arsenal) sharply threatened the opposing defense. But four shots on target were repeatedly denied by opposing goalkeeper Lionel Mpasi (Le Havre), and they failed to level the score.
In the end, Kane stepped up as the finisher. In the 75th minute, Kane found the back of the net with a precise header off a ball that Anthony Gordon (Barcelona) exquisitely lofted into the center from the left side of the penalty area. Kane's scoring instinct flashed again 11 minutes later. When Bellingham's shot rebounded off the opposing goalkeeper, Gordon collected it and fed Kane, who fired a powerful right-footed strike for the game-winning goal. It was the first time an England player had recorded a brace in a World Cup knockout stage in 36 years, since Gary Lineker scored two goals in the quarterfinal against Cameroon (England won 3-2) at the 1990 Italy tournament.
Kane netted his fourth and fifth goals of the tournament, closing to within one goal of current co-leaders Kylian Mbappe (France) and Lionel Messi (Argentina). Kane also raised his career World Cup total to 13 goals, passing Pele (Brazil, 12 goals) to tie Just Fontaine (France) for sixth place.
In a post-match interview with the BBC, Kane said, "I'm really happy to have played a game like this. It was a crazy game." He added, "There are moments when we get to be heroes, and today that came to me." He continued, "It was tough, but I think this game was one of the best I've played wearing the England shirt."
In another round-of-32 match that followed, Belgium (ranked 9th) beat Senegal (ranked 18th) 3-2 after a grueling extra-time battle. Belgium fell behind after conceding two goals to Senegal but dramatically equalized late in the second half to force the match into extra time. Captain Youri Tielemans (Aston Villa) calmly converted a penalty kick earned in added time at the end of extra time, completing the tournament's greatest comeback drama. Belgium will play co-host the United States (ranked 15th) in the round of 16 at Seattle Stadium on the morning of June 7.
