England vs. Congo Top Storylines, Odds, Live Stream for World Cup 2026

England comes into the 2026 FIFA World Cup knockout round with a few questions to answer about its attack.

Harry Kane and Jude Bellingham had strong group-stage performances, but the Three Lions need a little more out of the supporting cast.

England scored twice in its final two group games and now it faces a DR Congo team in the round of 32 that will likely sit in a defensive block.

Some of the tournament favorites already struggled with that type of defense in the round of 32. England needs to deal with the game properly so that it avoids the same fate as Germany.

England vs. DR Congo Info

Date: Wednesday, July 1

Start Time: Noon ET

TV: Fox

Live Stream: Fox One or FoxSports.com.

Odds (via FanDuel Sportsbook):

To Qualify for the Next Round: England (-850; bet $850 to win $100); DR Congo (+550; bet $100 to win $550)

90-Minute Money Line: England (-400); DR Congo (+1200); Draw (+430)

England will be the dominant side during Wednesday's clash in Atlanta.

DR Congo already produced a blueprint for how it will successfully defend against a European side during its group-stage draw with Portugal.

The African side is expected to line up in a deep defensive block. It will try to hit on the counter through Newcastle United's Yoane Wissa, who has three goals in the tournament.

Fatigue could play a role in the game for DR Congo, though, since it battled for 75 minutes to create separation from Uzbekistan and land a spot in the knockout round on Saturday.

Wissa's two-goal performance allowed DR Congo to come back from a one-goal deficit and qualify as a third-place team out of Group K.

England's attack needs to wear down the DR Congo defense with its movement and chance creation.

Kane and Bellingham have been the primary goal scorers at the World Cup, but Marcus Rashford and Bukayo Saka are equally as important.

Rashford and Saka had plenty of the ball on the wings against Panama, but they couldn't create many significant chances in the first 60 minutes.

Kane wasn't as involved as he should be against the perceived worst team in Group L. He and Bellingham eventually showed up with goals on Saturday, but the overall attacking performance had to be much better.

Anthony Gordon or Noni Madueke could enter the starting XI in place of Rashford or Saka, but the task will be the same for the wingers. They have to be more productive with their time in the final third to avoid any late drama.

Newly-minted Manchester City midfielder Elliott Anderson could be vital for the Three Lions as well.

Anderson will be one of the main distributors from the center of the park who will try to break down the DR Congo back line with his quick movement. He's also capable of producing a shot or two from outside the box that potentially alters the game.

The expectation is for England to advance to the round of 16, but to do so, it must be more efficient against a low block than Brazil was in its close win over Japan and Germany in its loss to Paraguay.