England playing today in the World Cup last 32 means Thomas Tuchel’s side meet DR Congo in Atlanta on Wednesday afternoon without two right-backs. England are still expected to carry a virtually full squad into Mercedes-Benz Stadium, but Reece James and Jarell Quansah are unavailable through injury.
Tuchel said England are ready for DR Congo to “make their lives difficult” and described the opponents as “a very, very compact, very physical team,” with a “5-3-2 formation” and sometimes a “5-diamond-4 formation.” The winner moves on to the last 16 to face either Mexico or Ecuador.
DR Congo’s route to Atlanta
DR Congo earned their place in the knockout phase with results that forced England to prepare for a different sort of game. They held Portugal to a 1-1 draw in Group K, lost 1-0 to Colombia, then beat Uzbekistan 3-1 to finish as one of the eight best third-place teams.
That path has shaped the task in front of England. Tuchel called DR Congo “very dangerous in counterattacks” and “very direct in the approach of play,” adding that they “can play, not shy to play long balls into the depth, make it a running game, make it a game into second balls.” England cannot approach the match as a routine last-32 tie.
Reece James and Jarell Quansah
The right-back problem is the one complication in an otherwise healthy squad. Tuchel said both players are getting closer and closer, and that he saw them on the pitch. He also said that, “In the nature of the injury, Jarell is a little bit ahead of Reece, but the race was close even to make it into a match squad this time.”
That leaves England with one clear adjustment point before kickoff. Tuchel’s message was simple: “It’s the moment to dig in. It’s the moment to be patient and to do what we do on highest level.”
Mexico or Ecuador next
The stakes are fixed. Win in Atlanta and England go to the last 16 against Mexico or Ecuador; lose and the World Cup run ends here. With the group-stage route already showing what DR Congo can do against Portugal, Colombia and Uzbekistan, England’s margin for error is thin from the first whistle at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
