England found themselves in serious trouble after being stunned by DR Congo in Atlanta this afternoon.
Thomas Tuchel’s side were overwhelming favourites to progress to the World Cup round of 16 but a shambolic start saw them go 1-0 down inside seven minutes.
A nice passage of play through midfield enabled DR Congo to find a bit of space down the England left and Chancel Memba’s cross field pass found Brian Cipenga in acres of space.
And with no England defender anywhere near him, the Almeria winger took his time before firing inside Jordan Pickford’s near post for his first international goal.
Everton goalkeeper Pickford will be disappointed but questions will be asked as to the whereabouts of England’s back four.
The Three Lions pushed for an instant response but Declan Rice could only put his left-wing corner straight out of play.
The winners here will meet Mexico at the Azteca in the early hours of Monday morning UK time.
World Cup 2026: England confirmed team vs DR Congo
England made three changes from their victory over Panama: Djed Spence, Declan Rice and Noni Madueke replace Bukayo Saka, Morgan Rogers and Jarell Quansah, who started that match but suffered an injury and is on the bench this time.
Full-back Reece James, who played throughout England’s first two matches but missed the encounter with Panama because of a hamstring issue, is also among the substitutes.
England starting XI: Jordan Pickford, Ezri Konsa, Nico O’Reilly, Marc Guehi, Djed Spence, Declan Rice, Elliot Anderson, Jude Bellingham, Harry Kane, Marcus Rashford, Noni Madueke
England substitutes: Dean Henderson, James Trafford, John Stones, Trevoh Chalobah, Dan Burn, Reece James, Jarell Quansah, Jordan Henderson, Kobbie Mainoo, Morgan Rogers, Eberechi Eze, Bukayo Saka, Anthony Gordon, Ollie Watkins, Ivan Toney
World Cup 2026: DR Congo full line up vs England
DR Congo made one alteration from their win over Uzbekistan, bringing in midfielder Ngalayel Mukau for forward Cedric Bakambu.
DR Congo starting XI: Lionel Mpasi, Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Axel Tuanzebe, Chancel Mbemba, Arthur Masuaku, Ngalayel Mukau, Nathanael Mbuku, Samuel Moutoussamy, Noah Sadiki, Brian Cipenga, Yoane Wissa
DR Congo substitutes: Timothy Fayulu, Matthieu Epolo, Steve Kapuadi, Dylan Batubinsika, Joris Kayembe, Gedeon Kalulu, Theo Bongonda, Aaron Tshibola, Charles Pickel, Edo Kayembe, Gael Kakuta, Meschack Elia, Cedric Bakambu, Fiston Mayele, Simon Banza
Where to watch England vs DR Congo: TV channel, live online streams
Kick-off on Wednesday is at 17:00 BST (12:00 ET / 09:00 PT). In the UK, live TV coverage is on BBC One.
Streaming on a vast range of devices is available through the BBC iPlayer app and BBC Sport website.
World Cup 2026: England vs DR Congo stats
- England are unbeaten in 11 competitive fixtures under Thomas Tuchel (W10) – only Ron Greenwood (16, between 1977 and 1980) and Roy Hodgson (14, between 2012 and 2013) enjoyed longer undefeated starts to their tenures
- This will be the second time England have encountered two African teams at the same World Cup – in 1990 they beat Egypt 1-0 in the group stage and knocked out Cameroon 3-2 in the quarter-finals
- Harry Kane will move level with Geoff Hurst (4) for knockout-stage goals for England at the World Cup if he scores, with only Gary Lineker (6) netting more
- The European golden shoe winner scored three during the group stage to become England’s record scorer at the men’s World Cup
- Elliot Anderson leads all England players for line-breaking passes (30), possession won (20) and duels won (24) at this World Cup, with Ecuador’s Pedro Vite the only other player to achieve at least 20 in each of those categories in the group stage
- DR Congo ranked 38th for possession average (38.5%) in the group stage. England were third, on 65.3%
- Yoane Wissa has scored three of DR Congo’s four goals in the competition, matching his tally across the entire 2025/26 season with Newcastle
- Wissa averaged a goal every 301 minutes for the Magpies but has one every 90 minutes at the World Cup
- The 29-year-old has averaged an expected goals (xG) tally of 0.21 for each of his nine attempts at the 2026 finals, with a total xG of 1.87
- This is the 11th time an African team has faced a former winner in a World Cup knockout match, with Morocco the only one to have advanced when they beat Spain on penalties in the last 16 in 2022
