Kane brace spares England blushes
Harry Kane was England's saviour as it avoided a monumental upset at the World Cup, recovering from 1-0 down to beat DR Congo 2-1 in the round of 32.
The Three Lions were on course for a defeat that might have eclipsed their disastrous Euro 2016 exit at the hands of Iceland, after Brian Cipenga fired DR Congo into a seventh-minute lead.
Lionel Mpasi made several outstanding saves to preserve that advantage until the 75th minute, but Kane finally beat the DR Congo goalkeeper with a downward header from Anthony Gordon's cross.
That duo combined for the winner four minutes from time, with Kane lashing into the roof of the net to tee up a last-16 showdown with co-host Mexico.
England was hit with a bolt from the blue when Chancel Mbemba's switch of play found Cipenga totally unmarked on the left side of the area, and Jordan Pickford failed to prevent his shot from squirming in at the near post.
More nervy moments followed for a disjointed England team, and it was jeered at the first hydration break before carving out its first opportunity shortly afterwards, with Ezri Konsa deflecting Declan Rice's free-kick wide.
Another Rice delivery was met with a thumping Jude Bellingham header that was repelled by Mpasi, while a heroic goal-line block from Aaron Wan-Bissaka denied Marcus Rashford what appeared to be a certain goal.
An even bigger chance then fell DR Congo's way as Yoane Wissa turned Wan-Bissaka's cross against the post, then Mpasi made two brilliant saves to thwart Bellingham and Kane, who also saw a penalty appeal waved away when attempting to round the goalkeeper.
Rashford rippled the side netting as England continued to look desperate in the second half, while Mpasi showed his reflexes again to keep out a deflected Bellingham cross, but Thomas Tuchel's substitutions made an impact as Gordon provided the cross for Kane to nod into the bottom-left corner, via a touch from the glove of Mpasi.
The game opened up even more from that point on, and after Bellingham's angled effort was kept out by Mpasi, Gordon kept the attack alive and found Kane for a spectacular finish from just inside the area.
England had to survive one final scare as Bellingham conceded a free-kick deep into stoppage time, but Wissa's effort floated harmlessly over, much to Tuchel's relief.
