England are all set to face Congo DR in the round of 32 of the World Cup. Thomas Tuchel’s men arrive at the first knockout stage of the tournament after topping Group L with two wins (Croatia, Panama) and a draw (Ghana).
Congo DR, meanwhile, finished third behind Colombia and Portugal in Group K after a draw with Portugal, a loss to Colombia and a win over Uzbekistan, but arrive at this stage as the highest ranked of the eight best third-placed finishers across the 12 groups.
The winner of this match will face the winner of Ecuador and Mexico’s round-of-16 meeting.
With everything to play for, here’s everything you need to know about the game:
How to watch:
The match will be available on BBC One in the UK, Fox Sports in the U.S., Zee5 in India and SBS in Australia. You can also follow ESPN’s live updates.
Key Details:
Date, kick-off time:
U.S. ET: July 1, Wednesday, 12.00 p.m.
UK BST: July 1, Wednesday at 5.00 p.m.
India IST: July 1, Wednesday at 9:30 p.m.
Australia AEST: July 2, Thursday at 2:00 a.m.
Venue: Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta
Referee: TBC
Team News and Predicted line-ups:
England
Jordan Pickford
Djed Spence | Ezri Konsa | Marc Guéhi | Nico O’Reilly
Elliot Anderson | Declan Rice
Bukayo Saka | Jude Bellingham | Marcus Rashford
Harry Kane
Reece James‘ injury, as well as the knock Jarell Quansah took in England’s win over Panama means Thomas Tuchel has a headache to solve at right back. Djed Spence is the most natural replacement, with it unlikely that Tuchel would want to disturb the Konsa-Guehi partnership in a knockout game.
Congo DR
Lionel Mpasi-Nzau
Aaron Wan-Bissaka | Chancel Mbemba | Axel Tuanzebe | Steve Kapuadi | Arthur Masuaku
Ngal’ayel Mukau | Samuel Moutoussamy | Noah Sadiki
Cédric Bakambu | Yoane Wissa
Talking Points
Can England break down Congo’s low block?
Thomas Tuchel’s main selection headache (apart from that right back slot) would be to assess if he should stick to the wingers who started the first two games (Anthony Gordon and Noni Madueke) or go with the pair that started the Panama win (Rashford and Saka).
The thing that might, or ought to, tip the scales on this is the way both Gordon and Madueke struggled against Ghana’s well-set low block. Rashford and Saka have tended to perform better in such situations and they could be important to getting at a Congo DR backline that held Cristiano Ronaldo‘s Portugal at arm’s length with ease for much of their World Cup opener.
Kane and Bellingham have been the brightest of England’s attackers, and their unpredictability and big-moment-seizing ability will be key, but the supply line down the wings needs to be up to scratch. As uninspiring as England have been so far at the World Cup, this could be the game in which they lay out a marker for the rest of the tournament.
Yoane Wissa is key for Congo DR
Congo DR’s defense is well set, and their great strength — with their Premier League and European football experience. they will know exactly what to expect from England’s forwards; and with tireless midfielders shielding them down the middle, they will make for one tough team to crack open.
They went with a very attacking 4-4-2 formation in their must-win game against Uzbekistan, but it would be reasonable to expect them to go back to the 5-3-2 that served them so well against Portugal, and indeed World Cup qualification.
But aside from that defense, key for Congo DR will be Yoane Wissa up top. Coming off a disastrous, injury-marred season for Newcastle United, Wissa has been brilliant for Congo DR, often times ploughing a lone furrow up top and taking the chances they do create with aplomb.
England’s defence haven’t been tested to a great extent in the group stages — except for flashes in their first half against Croatia — but Wissa will be eager to give them a tough time of it on Wednesday. He’s already got three World Cup goals and Sébastien Desabre will be hoping his star striker can add to his tally.
