On a night when England needed reinforcements for their leadership, the Three Lions booked their last 16 match against Mexico, Harry Kane did just that.
Thomas Tuchel’s side vowed to improve their performance after a particularly unimpressive group stage. But for 75 minutes in Atlanta, there was a lot of anxiety about whether they would be playing at home against a tenacious Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Brian Shipenga stunned England after just seven minutes, firing a shot at the near post when Jordan Pickford’s defense was at six and seven. For a long time, Tuchel’s men found an inspired figure in Lionel Mpathi.
But in the end, Kane did what Kane did. Anthony Gordon crossed and the Bayern Munich striker scored the equalizer. Then came the centre-forward’s moment of pure brilliance, winning the ball when surrounded, finding space and unleashing a technically excellent attack that soared to the roof of the net and put Mpathi on the spot.
Thierry Henry told CBS in the US: “From now on we will call him Sir Harry Kane.” “You were looking for an answer, and he himself was the answer.” This says everything about both England’s overall performance and the man who ensured victory from the brink of defeat.
Here are six talking points after goal king Kane dug England out of an almighty hole…
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1. No wonder there were early boos.
During this tournament, Powerade’s interruptions between the first and second halves of the game were regularly met with boos at all stadiums.
This one was no different, but this time the England supporters let their team know that the first 22 and a half minutes weren’t enough. The statistics were abysmal, with England failing to get a shot on goal before the break. And, of course, he was at a disadvantage.
Coming out of there, they were much better offensively, taking eight shots, controlling the game and creating chances. Jude Bellingham was spectacularly denied twice before half-time. They could not find a way to cross Mpasi.
England head coach Thomas Tuchel speaks to the team during a hydration break (Image: 2026 Europa Press)
2. Jed, keep it safe
By all accounts, Jed Spence is the fastest player in England’s squad. His athleticism and versatility were a big reason why Tuchel included him in the Three Lions squad.
What Tottenham’s full-backs need to understand is that using their speed and athleticism isn’t just important in attack or last-ditch situations. It is also important to stop things from the root.
So when Chancellor Mbemba is firing 50-yard diagonals from right to left against Shipenga, a dangerous goalscorer, Spence has to sprint. He has the starting job of covering the striker at centre-half on the right, which is fine. But then he eats up the ground and has to come out to wide man and stick to him with the first touch and then put in the second, third ball and not let it build up steam.
The thing that frustrates 85-cap former England right-back Gary Neville more than anything is that his full-backs don’t break through quickly enough to finish games off. Here, too often, England’s last right-back meandered like a morning walk. This is not enough at any level, let alone the World Cup finals.
Rather, it was emblematic of the defence’s lethargic attitude in the first half when they conceded just one goal and should have conceded more – only Yoan Ouissa knows how he made a mistake with six yards on goal.
Jed Spence and Brian Shipenga compete for the ball (Image: 2026 Anadolu)
3. Is there a penalty? No penalty?
Kane’s first call at half-time was to referee Adham Makhadme. Shaking his head and pointing his finger, the England captain was furious at the decision not to award a penalty as half-time approached.
Kane always arrived at the goal before the goalkeeper. Axel Tuanzebe was out of the equation as he couldn’t reach Kane’s back and it was just a matter of who would get to the ball first. England’s number nine knew he was the answer to that question, but Congolese stopper Mpasi didn’t know that.
Kane was touching the ball away from him and there was constant contact between the two. But Kane embellished it, almost stiffening with his feet together as he made contact and went down. At the same time, it looked like a penalty and it looked like a dive. That’s why opinions were divided.
Alan Shearer said: “There has been contact, there is no doubt.” “To me it’s a penalty,” Joe Hart added, “I expect it to be held against me.”
But in contrast, Wayne Rooney said: “I think he stumbled a little bit and then dived into the goalkeeper. There’s definitely some contact, but it looks like he dived into the goalkeeper. It’s probably not a penalty.”
Admittedly, it wasn’t clear and England supporters in the stadium couldn’t believe the referee hadn’t been sent for review, but you can understand why VAR chose not to get involved.
Should Harry Kane have been given an early penalty? (Image: AFP)
4. Widespread contradictions persist.
Tuchel was not satisfied with what he had in terms of quality in the wide positions, particularly on the left, during the tournament. That’s why Anthony Gordon and Marcus Rashford were chopped up and changed. Tuchel isn’t necessarily looking for answers, he’s looking for someone who can step up and deliver with some consistency.
Rashford was initially ruled out but came into his own against Croatia. That, combined with Gordon’s disappointing performance against Ghana, led to his return to the lineup.
However, Rashford’s final result here was not good enough and Gordon, who had an Achilles problem, and Bukayo Saka were brought on, and it was little surprise that he and Noni Madueke were hooked on the hour mark after a series of haphazard nights.
Gordon has quality, which is why Barcelona moved quickly to snatch his signature from Bayern Munich this summer. And in the end, he produced a moment in the final, scoring a wonderful cross over Kane’s head and doing enough to beat Mpathi and equalize for England.
Harry Kane, Jude Bellingham and Anthony Gordon celebrate the equalizer. (Image: 2026 Getty Images)
5. Killer Kane
Alan Shearer said: “It’s a killer marksman’s attack. He has no right to shoot from there. The goalkeeper has no chance at all.”
When the country needed him, Cain stood up for himself. Not once, but twice. His second of the night (three touches, control, swivel, strong strike) puts him ahead of Pele’s 13 goals in World Cup finals, level with Erling Haaland’s five in this tournament, and one goal ahead of Kylian Mbappé and Lionel Messi’s six. It was a brutal, intense, ruthless effort. England have everything they need to improve further in this competition.
“What a centre-forward he is,” Shearer said. He’s a guy who knew a thing or two about being number nine.
As long as Kane is healthy and the Three Lions are playing the ball to him in and around the penalty area, England will always have a chance.
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6. Broken records
Until tonight’s encounter, England had never won a World Cup match in which they were behind at half-time. 9 games, 2 draws, 7 losses.
Well, they are where they are today because of a fantastic captain.
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