Hae Kane led England to the round of 16 of the World Cup after a hard-fought 2-1 win over the Democratic Republic of Congo in the round of 32 of the tournament.
The Congolese national team took the initiative to score in the 7th minute through Bryan Sebinga, and the first half, which was characterized by wasted opportunities, ended with the African team advancing with a goal without reply.
In the second half, the English team succeeded in scoring a brace through Harry Kane, in just 11 minutes, so the equalizer was in the 75th minute, and then the Bayern Munich player succeeded in scoring the second goal in the 86th minute.
The match witnessed great suffering for England, who could not decipher the defense of the Democratic Republic of Congo, which led a distinctive level that no one expected, in light of the great difference between the history and capabilities of the two teams.
Congolese goalkeeper Lionel Mbassi showed a very special level, as he saved many chances for England and contributed strongly to his team's progress until the 75th minute.
In the end, England hard-fought qualified for the quarter-finals, while the Democratic Republic of Congo bid farewell to the World Cup, with their heads held high, after dazzling the world today.
With this result, England will advance to the round of 16 to face Mexico in a match on July 6.
Mexico had qualified for the quarter-finals after beating Ecuador 2-0 in the round of 32 as well.
The events of the match began with the referee counting a foul in favor of the Democratic Republic of Congo after Jude Bellingham tackled the goalkeeper during one of the joint balls in the fourth minute.
England then tried to threaten Congo's goal early, after Marcus Rashford sent a cross from the left side, but it went past all the players and turned into a goal kick in favor of the DRC.
In the 7th minute, the Democratic Republic of Congo succeeded in opening the scoring early, after one of its players sent a distinctive cross from the right side, where the ball reached Brian Sipinga inside the box, who received it and shot it hard to the right of Jordan Pickford, announcing the progress of his country with a goal without reply.
England were awarded a corner kick after a cross from Declan Rice from the left in the 14th minute, but it hit the DR Congo's defence and turned into a corner.
In the 28th minute, the referee issued a yellow card to the Democratic Republic of Congo player Noah Sadeki, after a strong intervention on Jed Spence near the Congo penalty area from the right side.
England missed a chance to equalise when a neat cross from Marcus Rashford inside the box was fired straight from a single touch, but a DRC defender deftly cleared the ball off the line of scrimmage.
In the 45th minute, Harry Kane demanded a penalty after falling inside the box, but the match referee refused to count any foul and ordered play to continue.
The match referee counted 5 minutes of time instead of waste, before blowing the whistle at the end of the first half with the Democratic Republic of the Congo leading by a goal for nothing.
Second Half Highlights
At the start of the second half, Harry Kane sent an imperfect pass that ended up sending the ball out for a goal-kick for the Democratic Republic of Congo.
England continued their attacking pressure, and Marcus Rashford almost equalized after taking the ball from the left side, and succeeded in evading one of the DRC defenders, before firing a ball that passed just near the left post.
In the 62nd minute, England took control of the game and pressed hard across the pitch, but the DRC defence held on and managed to maintain its lead.
England were able to equalize through Harry Kane in the 74th minute, after he received an elaborate cross from substitute Anthony Gordon inside the box, to convert it with a powerful header that sat to the right of the DR Congo goalkeeper.
The DRC then made two substitutions at once, with Edo Kembi and Theo Bongonda in place of Ngaliel Mukau and Brian Sipinga.
In the 86th minute, Kane was able to score the second goal for England after a shot from the right that came to the left of the DRC keeper at the top of the net, amid great joy from the coaching staff and players.
The Democratic Republic of Congo could not score a draw in the last moments, until the referee blew his whistle and declared the match between the two sides 2-1 in favor of the Three Lions, to set up a date against Mexico in the round of 16.