.png)
1 hour ago
5
Key events
58 min: Rashford swings a cross in from the left … miles over the bar. He puts his head in his hands. A few boos. A lot of English frustration.
56 min: Spence traps Masuaku near the right-hand corner flag, but the DRC defender spins and plays the ball off his England counterpart for a goal kick. “Is that Jan Tomaszewski in goal?” wonders Andrew Goudie.
54 min: Madueke crosses from the right. Rashford rises highest but plants his header miles over the bar. England are making chances. But they’re not taking them. Mpasi a big factor in all of that, to be fair.
53 min: Now it’s Bellingham’s turn to shoot from a tight angle on the left. Or was the intention to cross? Either way, it’s heading into the top-left corner, but Mpasi sticks up a strong hand to block. Another stunning save!
52 min: England immediately counter through Rashford, who enters the box from the left before lashing a drive into the side netting.
51 min: Mbuku has the opportunity to release Wan-Bissaka into acres of space down the right. He passes, but Guehi dives desperately to block. It’s brilliant defending, because had he not stopped the crossfield ball, Wan-Bissaka was away, clear through on goal.
50 min: Before it can be taken, Kane shoves Mbemba to the ground. The referee gives both of them the what-for, and then the corner is taken, a complete waste of time.
49 min: O’Reilly wins a corner down the left. Rice wanders across to take. Once again he delivers long, and Bellingham prepares to head home at the far stick. But Masuaku is on point to head behind. Another Rice corner coming up, this time from the right.
48 min: Anderson nicks the ball off Masuaku, and has the chance to slip Bellingham into the box from the right. But he overhits the pass. Goal kick.
47 min: Mbuku and Wan-Bissaka exchange passes down the right, the latter sent into the England box. The cut-back is intercepted by Anderson and cleared, but England were once again found to be defensively lacking. Gaps again.
The DRC get the ball rolling for the second half. No changes. “Should have been a free kick against Kane for kicking the keeper’s hand, plus one for diving,” writes Alex Welby, who may or may not be deliberately pressing buttons for sport. “That’s a red before you get to the yellow for dissent. He got off lightly.”
The game in pictures. The best images from the match at Atlanta Stadium, for your leisure and pleasure. More to be added as things develop, too, because we love to spoil you.
It’s the Anthony Barry Half-Time Show!!! “We still have 45 minutes to play … obviously to concede an early goal to a team that plays this style of football is never a good thing … normally carry you into a state of shock … but it’s released our guys … handbrake off … from there we’ve played a high-level game … created many, many, many chances … the goalkeeper the man of the match so far … it’s absolutely not a time to panic … it’s just about continuing to play in our way, in our rhythm … not a time to play gung-ho football … continue to attack … keep the back door shut and we’ll come back into the game.”
Half-time postbag. “Everyone from Congo’s side announced loudly to anyone who would listen that they would follow Ghana and park the bus tonight. I feel they laid a trap and England just walked into it. Congo didn’t come to this match to park the bus, they’ve been in it for the win from the first minute, and England looks like they never had a plan for this scenario” – Nelson Calvinho
“If this ends up in the upset to end all upsets (and there’s along way to go upriver yet), there’ll be a lot of Heart of Darkness headlines tomorrow. No doubt one or two English ones citing ‘The Horror! The Horror!’ But the part of the novel this could end up echoing is the sight of the European ‘pilgrims’ shooting aimlessly into a wall of forest trees, as the arrows of a supposedly weaker enemy pick them off” – Justin Kavanagh
“Even if we win this game, and that’s a very big if based on what we’re currently seeing, this team will be eaten alive by Mexico” – Alex Adams
“To be an England supporter is to hate yourself a little. My default position is to support the underdog, and DR Congo have made this an amazing match and to a man are playing out of their skin. This could be one of the greatest World Cup stories, and I might just want it to happen a little. Dear me” – Robin Mudie
“This was very poorly playacted by Kane. He needs to practice going down in the box much more. Might have got a yellow card for his trouble” – Sujit A
“How does Kane avoid a yellow for simulation when even the ref made the dive motion?” – Erik Shilts
“I clearly missed a meeting. When did Lev Yashin declare for the DRC? Unbelievable goalkeeping” – Steven Grundy
HALF TIME: England 0-1 DR Congo
England are 45 minutes away from falling victim to one of the great World Cup shocks.
45 min +6: Bellingham’s sheer bustle wins a corner down the left. One last chance for England in this first half. Rice to deliver. He sends long. Kane meets the dropping ball on the right-hand corner of the six-yard box, and volleys goalwards … only for the irrepressible Mpasi to save this one with his trouser arrangement! Oof! That’s gonna hurt. But he’s saved another certain goal.
45 min +5: Cipenga has a chance to cross for Wissa in the middle, but Spence cuts it out. Cipenga-Spence has been the signature duel of the first half.
45 min +3: Cipenga flicks the ball over Spence’s head but can’t meet it again when it drops into the England box. The DRC don’t launch too many attacks, but when they do, they look dangerous.
45 min +2: Madueke whips a cross in from the right. Bellingham flashes a header towards the bottom-left corner. Nothing wrong with any of that, but Mpasi is inspired, sticking out a hand to make a sensational reaction stop.
45 min +1: A long ball nearly releases Mbuku down the inside-right channel. O’Reilly shows great strength to hold the DRC forward off and shepherd the ball back to Pickford. Fine last-man defending.
45 min: There will be six additional first-half minutes.
44 min: VAR has a look at the possible penalty … and agrees that Kane manufactured the situation. Play on. It could have been 0-2, it could have been 1-1, but here we are. The small margins!
43 min: … then up the other end, Kane chases a ball into the DRC box down the inside-right channel. Mpasi comes out to smother. Kane knocks the ball past the keeper, then goes over. There’s minimal contact, and Kane instigated it. The referee waves play on. Kane and Thomas Tuchel are livid.
42 min: The DRC should be two up. Wan-Bissaka curls a low cross to the near post. Wissa meets it, six yards out, ahead of Konsa … and passes the ball onto the base of the right-hand post and out for a goal kick! What a miss!
41 min: Spence romps down the right – he’s been much more impressive going forward – but can’t get past Tuanzebe. The ball clanks off him for a goal kick.
40 min: Mbuku jinks down the right and wins the DRC’s first corner of the evening. Nothing comes of it.
39 min: Rice’s free kick once again fails to beat the first man. The DRC clear.
38 min: Mbuku, Wan-Bissaka and Wissa combine cutely down the right, and look to have opened England up, only for the offside flag to go up. England counter through Rashford along the left touchline, and he’s brought down by Mukau, who somehow escapes a yellow card despite having taken a handful of shirt.
36 min: Rashford curls a cross in for Kane, who is denied a shot goalwards by Tuanzebe’s brilliantly timed block. Then another phase of attack, and a shot from Rashford, six yards out, is blocked by Wan-Bissaka on the line! Much better from England, who have picked up the pace since the hydration break.
34 min: Madueke goes on another run down the right. He’s looked fairly lively, though the final ball is currently lacking.
32 min: The DRC respond to that English flurry with a period of possession in the middle of the park. Then suddenly Cipenga nips past Spence down the left. Twice. The first time his chipped cross nearly finds Wissa, but Guehi eyebrows clear. The second time he blazes wildly over the bar. Spence is being given a very hard time by Cipenga. “Let me get this straight,” begins Hugh Molloy. “Trent Alexander-Arnold wasn’t selected because of his defensive frailties. Glad that’s worked out well.”
30 min: Rice crosses from the right. Good whipped delivery. Bellingham meets it, six yards out, and guides a header towards the top right. It’s great play all round, but unfortunately for England, that also includes Mpasi, who arcs his back and sticks out an arm to athletically turn the ball away. England have been miles better since being told what’s what during that hydration break.
28 min: Rice’s delivery of the free kick is poor. It should be cleared by first man Sadiki, but he misses the ball altogether. Instead the ball hits Konsa, and flies inches wide of the top-right corner. Konsa didn’t know much about that, but had it been on target, it was a goal, because Mpasi was totally out of the game.
27 min: Spence accelerates down the right and is crudely clipped by Sadiki, arriving late and with extreme prejudice. Into the book he goes.
26 min: The game restarts. Madueke dribbles into the DRC box from the right, then checks back and falls over, palmed off by Masuaku. He claims a penalty – and so do thousands of England fans – but that’s not happening. “We’ve all been saying that our defence would be in real trouble when they came up against a first-class attack,” writes Simon Cherry. “Our defence clearly couldn’t be bothered to wait for that.”
25 min: As for the drinks and snacks themselves, England shall serve up plates/pints of vindaloo, it says here, while DR Congo will get the party started with a four-pack of Skol.
23 min: Rashford lets a simple pass run under his boot and out for a throw. And that’s drinks. My word, England need this hydration break, because Thomas Tuchel needs to issue some tactical instruction and words of encouragement.
21 min: Now Rashford goes snapping in on Wan-Bissaka, then Mbuku in short order. Just a free kick, but another booking wouldn’t have been an outrage. A couple of England players need to take it down a notch.
