England 2-1 Congo DR: FIFA World Cup Round of 32 Match Report

England 2-1 Congo DR, and another knockout tie England had to come from behind to win. Congo DR led at half-time; England scored twice after the break to survive.

Trailing at the interval of a Round of 32 match is not what a side that scored four in its opening group game expects, and it set the tone for England's entire knockout run. They won this 2-1, beat Mexico 3-2 in the Round of 16, and beat Norway 2-1 after extra time in the quarter-final — three consecutive one-goal margins, none of them comfortable.

Congo DR go out having led against one of the tournament favourites, which is the second time in four matches they took a positive position against a seeded side. Their group campaign had already produced a draw with Portugal.

England topped Group L with seven points. They opened with a 4-2 win over Croatia — six goals, the most in any of their matches — then drew 0-0 with Ghana and beat Panama 2-0. Six scored, two conceded, and a group in which their attacking output came almost entirely from the first ninety minutes.

Congo DR came through Group K on four points behind Colombia and Portugal. They drew 1-1 with Portugal in their opener, lost 1-0 to Colombia, and then beat Uzbekistan 3-1 to qualify. Four goals scored, three conceded — modest numbers carried by a genuinely good result against Portugal.

That 1-1 with Portugal is the context for the first half here. Congo DR had already shown they could take the lead or hold a result against a European side with far greater resources, and doing it again in a knockout match was consistent rather than freakish.

England advanced to a Round of 16 against Mexico, winning 3-2, then beat Norway 2-1 after extra time in the quarter-final before losing 1-2 to Argentina in the semi-final. They finished third after a 6-4 win over France in the play-off — the highest-scoring match of the tournament, and by some distance the loosest football they played.

This tie is where the pattern started. Behind at half-time, level and ahead by full time, through by one goal. England's knockout campaign contained no result more emphatic than a one-goal win until the third-place match, when the stakes had gone.

For Congo DR, elimination in the Round of 32 comes with the consolation of having troubled two of the tournament's stronger European sides. Four points from a group containing Portugal and Colombia, and a half-time lead against England, is a campaign that punched above its seeding.