England and the DR Congo are heading to the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, as the Three Lions aim to show their true potential following back-to-back lackluster performances against Ghana and Panama.
Thomas Tuchel’s players once again failed to impress in the first half of their last match, having to rely on the individual brilliance of their world-class stars for both goals in the second half.
Nevertheless, big favourites often underperform in group stages, and Tuchel can still be confident that England have what it takes to make it far, despite the likelihood of meeting Brazil or Argentina en route to the final.
England's defensive work deserves more attention. The Three Lions have lost only twice in 17 matches since Tuchel took over (W13, D2), and managed to keep a clean sheet in 12 of their 13 wins. All they need is to be more creative and efficient in the final third.
DR Congo secured their ticket to this knockout clash as one of the best third-placed teams after stealing a point from Portugal and beating Uzbekistan. The Leopards didn't enter the tournament in the best form, but have since proven that scoring multiple goals against them is a heavy task.
Reaching this stage is a historic achievement, as this will not only be their first-ever knockout match, but they achieved it on their first appearance at a World Cup since 1974.
How the bookies view it: Back the Three Lions over the Leopards
England have once again been given a significant advantage in the odds, although the gap is not as massive as before the match against Panama. You can currently back the Three Lions at around 3/10.
Few people would bet against them, but you can also back DR Congo at 11/1, or a draw at 9/2. As expected, England's odds are steadily dropping given the support they'll receive from bettors, so you can find the best odds by using our best mobile apps for World Cup betting.
Recent head-to-head: England are undefeated against African nations in knockouts
Since DR Congo have not appeared at a World Cup in over 50 years, they have never had the opportunity to face England, and this will be the first official meeting between the two nations.
The Three Lions have experience against African teams in knockout stages, having won in both instances. Most recently, they met Senegal at the Round of 16 in Qatar four years ago, when they won 3-0.
Players to watch: Kane is England’s all-time goalscorer at World Cups
Expecting Harry Kane to score in every match may be getting old, but he has enough reasons to want as many goals as possible. As one of the favourites to win the Ballon d’Or, Kane needs a strong performance at the World Cup, because we’ve already seen how important that is for individual awards, even if you’ve had the best season at the club level.
He officially holds the record for the most goals scored for England at World Cups with 11 goals, after scoring against Panama and twice against Croatia. We don’t see how the DR Congo will be able to stop him for the entire 90 minutes.
Probable line-ups
England: Pickford, Spence, Konsa, Guehi, O’Reilly, Anderson, Rashford, Bellingham, Rice, Saka, Kane
DR Congo: Mpazi-Nzau, Masuaku, Tuanzebe, Mbemba, Wan-Bissaka, Mbuku, Moutoussamy, Sadiki, Cipenga, Wissa, Bakambu
Anything else catch the eye?
On paper, England shouldn’t have much trouble against DR Congo, but we’ve seen that they definitely have room for improvement. The Leopards are unlikely to have many chances to score, as they’ll likely play a classic 4-4-2 with a very low block, waiting for opportunities to counterattack.
Their defence is certainly impressive, having conceded more than one goal only once in their last 15 matches—and that was in a friendly against Chile. That’s why we believe England will win, but by a narrow margin, which gives us plenty of options.
And since we expect the action to be concentrated in front of one goal, we can also take advantage of the shots markets, with over 5.5 shots on target for England being a pretty good option.
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