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England's World Cup journey continues into the round of 16, but it wasn't easy v DR Congo. After going 0-1 down, Thomas Tuchel's side fought back with a change in tactics, key substitutions and the right boot of Harry Kane of course. But just how key was the hydration break in all of this too? Jacob Horsfall is here to break it down.
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0:00
It's still coming home lads, don't you worry. Yes, England did make it difficult, but they got the win that they deserved in the end
0:06
I'm Jacob Hawes for 4-4-2's resident tactician, and this is how England eventually broke through Congo
0:18
England began the game really, really passive. You see, the wingers were wary to engage with the Congo wide players
0:25
whilst the England midfielders want to tuck in and drop back into the defence to allow the England fullbacks to be the ones who were aggressive in the wide flanks
0:33
Which, to me, suggests to go maybe got the initial plan a little bit wrong
0:38
England's midfield bloc didn't want to engage at all out of possession. Whenever Congo worked it wide, they were able to combine to create space
0:45
beyond the aggressive England fullbacks. Which, obviously, is a huge issue for England
0:50
when Congo were overloading the wide areas and looking to use their fast and direct wingers
0:55
On top of that, the fact that the fullbacks were the ones being aggressive whilst the wingers were staying high
1:00
means that the centre-backs were being pulled wide into the channels. Because Nico O'Reilly is stuck to preventing this winger at all times
1:06
and both England wingers are instructed to stay high, when Congo make this central run, Konza is occupied
1:13
That leaves Jed Spence isolated at the back post. Madueke then stays high, which leaves the England right-back in a 2v1
1:20
making it so hard for Jed Spence to make the right decision
1:24
And although Congo only scored once and they didn't have a boatload of opportunities
1:29
they constantly threatened England by stretching the defence and using those big switches of play to exploit the open space
1:36
Congo's attack map shows them almost entirely avoiding the central areas and constantly moving down the flanks
1:42
You then look at Konza and Gahe's heat maps and that shows them being dragged towards the channels and having to operate in those wider areas
1:48
Now, there's obviously a reason for this. And for me, I believe that it's because England expected a different game plan from Congo
1:56
We saw a back five from DR Congo against both Portugal and Colombia
2:00
which means Tuchel probably expected the same. A disgustingly low low block for Congo to try hang on to a draw for as long as possible
2:08
Instead, Congo had more possession than England in the first 15 and set out to play proper nice football
2:15
They pinned England into their own box on numerous occasions, looking to overload the wings before cutting the ball back to late arrivals in the box
2:22
They did look to bomb people on whenever they got the ball, and I think that did catch England out quite a bit
2:27
England left both of their wingers further forward because they probably didn't expect Congo to have enough players forward
2:33
to overload England's defence, which is why the water break, for the first time ever, was amazing
2:41
Chances are coming England way Harry Kane said after the first water break we upped the level And that exactly what happened After that water break England made changes both in and out of possession that allowed them to create chance after chance and really impose themselves on the game
2:57
England's wingers started to drop deeper to create 2v1s against the Congo wingers which allowed England to keep them in those wide zones and not cutting in size
3:05
The result of the water break, whatever Thomas Tuchel decided to say to them, was England having 59% possession and generating 1.32 xG
3:14
Almost immediately after that break, we saw England get into these scenarios regularly
3:18
Rice got into those little pockets of space on the edge of the box regularly, which meant England could play crosses beyond the Congo defence who were flat-footed facing the ball
3:27
Which is something that Tuchel has fallen back on throughout this tournament. Whenever England are up against a stubborn defence who are sat a little bit deeper, they'll start to play an abundance of crosses in the box, particularly from the half space
3:38
Against Congo, that was England's most crosses in a World Cup match since 1966 against Mexico
3:44
Which is why we saw England set out with Marcus Rashford and Nari Madueke, two wingers who are technically wrong-footed because that allows them to cut onto the inside, get into the pockets and then play those wing-swinging balls beyond the opposition's defence
3:57
However, whenever England switched that ball to the wings, Congo very, very quickly made it into 2v1s and even 3v1s to stop that happening
4:04
So after the water break, it felt like a conscious instruction to get Declan Rice driving from deeper and arriving at the pocket much more regularly
4:12
because that disrupted Congo's plan. When England were in this position and Congo had doubled up on one of the wide players
4:18
you would then have a little bit of space for someone to arrive into
4:22
And instead of Declan Rice starting there, he began darting from a deeper position to arrive onto the pass from the winger and then deliver into the box
4:30
Which, as the game went on, England really did double down on that strategy
4:34
potentially out of frustration or from trusting Thomas Tuchel. England had this sort of narrow central diamond with the wingers hanging out by the touchline
4:42
This created larger distances between Congo players and between England and Congo players
4:47
which meant Congo were having to make up for lost ground when they were trying to defend
4:51
Now, obviously, this relies on England's winger stepping up to the plate
4:54
and being aggressive and being direct, which early doors, they didn't really do
4:59
Madueke got the ball so many times in that 1v1 position and just turned back and looked to protect the ball
5:05
rather than be risky and take his man on. Maybe that's because England were doubling down on those longer balls to wide areas
5:11
which I suppose make it difficult for a winger to control the ball and then instantly look to burst away
5:15
They attempted 18 long balls in the first half, for example, Which not only makes it difficult for a winger to take a touch and then try build his acceleration up again
5:23
but also made it quite predictable for Congo to try and get players over, try get coverage over and make it into those 2 and 3 V1s
5:31
However as things went on England found a way They managed to get Jude Rice and Anderson occupying the two Congo pressing lines This meant the other winger was in space
5:42
and England were able to fire balls across the floor. As a result, you see Congo players legging it over to try to protect space
5:48
as England bomb players through. This dart from Eberechi Eze in behind, combined with Rice's movement into the box
5:55
allows England to pull players apart and get into little pockets of space
6:00
And in the end, that was the difference. England found a way to stretch that Congo defense, which was so compact, so aggressive, so well drilled
6:09
But because they got stretched before the end of the game, England found space to get in beyond the back line
6:14
There's a reason Thomas Tuchel said we will see the best version of us the further we go into the tournament
6:20
England needs space to really be at their best. And when you're playing against a low block, that space is a finite commodity
6:26
So you've got to find a way to create it. Which is why I really liked the Eze substitution, because he came on and is a player who thrives in tight space alongside someone like Pekai Osaka, who does the same
6:37
They were able to combine really quickly, which created space for other players like Declan Rice, like Jude Bellingham, even Harry Kane inside the box
6:46
So a huge credit has to go to Tuchel, not for just the way England adapted after that first water break, but also for the substitutions that did really change the game
6:55
Video aside for a second, here's a hypothetical question for you. Imagine you're on your holidays for the World Cup or you're travelling for work and can't get your World Cup fix
7:04
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7:10
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7:15
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7:20
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7:27
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7:39
Let's get back to this video The King someone who has been maybe deprived of these big England moments
7:49
but stepped up in one of the biggest moments of England knockout tournaments in my lifetime
7:53
with two absolutely sensational goals. First, we have the header. Now, Gordon will get a lot of credit for this goal, but Kane's movement is sensational
8:03
The first cross leaves him inside the six-yard box, but instead of moving to create a direct option for Gordon
8:09
he delays and moves as the ball is coming in, which gives him the chance to attack the ball unchallenged
8:14
However, even though he did score that goal, Harry Kane did struggle for a large part of the game
8:18
that something Thomas Tuchel will want to look at because whether or not he was coming deeper trying to obviously link play with the midfield or he was sitting around the 18 box trying to get into crosses Congo had one or two players stuck to him like glue
8:33
As a result, Kane competed in eight ground and aerial duels, and he lost six of them
8:37
But the problem is, when you're marking Harry Kane, and you take him out the game for 88 minutes, for example
8:43
well, those two minutes, they're enough for Harry Kane to make an impact. They're enough for him to take you out of the tournament
8:50
and he will put you to bed if you just give him a sniff, which is what he did for England against Congo
8:55
When England pick up the rebound for the second goal, Congo have plenty of players back
9:00
but those two players who have man-marked Kane have let their guard down
9:03
That probably comes as a part of being fatigued. It's been a long game for Congo. They defended so well
9:08
They worked so hard, but that's the thing with England. They've got superstars
9:11
So as the game goes on, England, even when they're a goal behind, become even more favourable
9:17
because they just keep going. they've got so many moments in this team gordon does really well to work a way to open the pass
9:23
to kane and as king h receives it he steps sideways probably anticipating the congo defenders would
9:28
follow that move like they followed him all game the problem is he only takes one more touch before
9:33
releasing his shot which gives none of these congo players time to set or predict his move
9:38
and when it hits the top of the net well let's be honest not many go actually no no one is stopping
9:45
a Harry Kane shot where you don't see the ball coming, you don't see him even lining up his shot
9:50
and he hits it with that much power into the roof of the net. I mean Kane is now joint third top
9:54
scorer in the 2026 World Cup at the time of recording and it shouldn't really come as a
9:59
surprise not only because Harry Kane's arguably the best striker on the planet but also because
10:04
England have created so many chances this tournament. This is fourth for XG generated in
10:10
this tournament at the time recorded with 2.16 of that coming against Congo don't get me wrong
10:16
England's performance wasn't perfect especially that first 20 minutes was actually very very
10:21
worrying you do the same against Mexico you do the same against France and that could be England's
10:25
tournament all over but if England had scored those two goals first and Congo had scored one
10:31
and the game panned out in pretty much the same way we would not be seeing all the comments that
10:35
we are seeing about the England team the performance wasn't good but it certainly wasn't horrific
10:40
it was another game against a stubborn defense who probably did shock a lot of the coaching staff
10:45
now we move on to Mexico it's a big game at the Azteca and it's probably England's biggest test
10:51
so far will the Mexico game plan play into the way Thomas Tuchel wants to play or will they be
10:57
another stubborn team that England have to try and get their best players providing some big big
11:02
moments I'm sure we'll find out I've been Jacob Orsford this has been 442 and we'll see you again
11:07
whether or not England beat Mexico, they'll probably decide on how soon you'll see me
11:13
Peace
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