This is another angle that I’ve come back to throughout England’s campaign so far and it’s landed in two of England’s three games with the exception of their 0-0 draw with Ghana. Panama got real joy in transition against England, managing 13 shots and drawing two saves from Jordan Pickford.

DR Congo have the attacking players to carry that kind of threat when England lose possession in central areas. The front pairing of Wissa and Bakambu can be strong and hold up the ball well to allow the African side to get up the pitch and test Pickford on at least one occasion, as he has been in two of his three matches so far. 

DR Congo have drawn a save from the opposition goalkeeper in all three of their matches so far and won’t be afraid to take on speculative efforts, they’ve had 4+ shots from outside the box in all three of their matches so far - managing 6+ shots from outside the box in two of these games. 

The market has caught up with this angle now, but it’s still worth taking as part of a bet builder given the expected gamestate. 

DR Congo will play in a very similar way to Ghana and Panama in this clash, knowing that a toe to toe battle with England will only end one way given the talent in Tuchel’s side.

DR Congo have the facilities to frustrate England and make them wait for an opener. They held Portugal to a 1-1 draw on Matchday 1, and also limited Colombia to just one goal and an xG of 0.98 despite the South American side having 20 shots. 

Their low block will inevitably lead to England racking up the corner count again, the Three Lions have covered this corner line in all three games so far with at least seven corners in each clash.

There aren’t many better bets you can have on England right now than Kane to find the target twice. He’s been remarkably consistent this season in front of goal and this team is set up to get the most out of the Bayern Munich striker.

He scored and had two shots on target against Panama last time out, taking his overall tally to 13 shots across his three starts (4.43 per 90), seeing six of these efforts find the target at the World Cup (2.05 per 90).

This is a small sample size, but Kane’s numbers stay consistent when you widen the pool with the striker scoring eight goals across eight starts in qualifying from 16 shots on target (2.11 per 90). Kane also maintained an average of 2.53 shots on target per 90 in the Bundesliga and 2.17 shots on target per 90 in the Champions League during the 25/26 campaign.

England’s backline has looked vulnerable in transition in all three games at the World Cup so far and Thomas Tuchel’s side have been fortunate not to concede more goals with Panama having a goal ruled out and Ghana being very unfortunate not to get a penalty. 

Yoanne Wissa has been very impressive at the World Cup so far with three goals to his name from nine shots (3.00 per 90). He’s been clinical when he’s found the target with all three of his efforts on goal ending up in the back of the net. He’s played in the Premier League for the last five seasons so he’ll be familiar with most of his opponents here.

Wissa scored three goals across eight starts in qualifying for DR Congo and should be able to offer an outlet for the underdogs who will have noted England’s struggles against Ghana last week and set up in a similar low block with the aim of feeding Wissa in transition. 

Noah Sadiki is a really impressive player and will have to be at his best here to contain a midfield of Rice, Anderson and Bellingham. Sadiki will be a familiar face to Sunderland fans who will be well aware of his key abilities, the main one being his energy and willingness to eat up ground for his side.

Sadiki has surprisingly only started one game at the World Cup so far, but really impressed in that start against Uzbekistan in which he committed a foul and was shown a yellow card. I expect him to start again here on the back of that solid display and have a particular instruction to keep an eye on Bellingham and Anderson who have been two of England’s most influential players so far. 

Bellingham and Anderson are really strong when it comes to winning fouls, drawing 13 between them so far (4.91 per 90). This confirms that Sadiki will have a lot of work to get through in this game as one of DR Congo’s central midfielders in an expected 4-4-2 shape. Sadiki averaged exactly 1.00 fouls committed per 90 across his 33 starts for Sunderland during the 25/26 Premier League campaign.

Jude Bellingham has been crucial for England so far and had a hand in both goals against Panama last time out, scoring the first and setting up Harry Kane for the second.

Bellingham was heavily questioned before the tournament started but has answered those questions with three goal. contributions across his three matches so far. Bellingham’s role in this England side sees him push up to fill the space vacated by Harry Kane when the striker drops a bit deeper.

Bellingham has already matched his output from the most recent European Championships in four fewer starts. This shows a maturity in his game at this level and he should be crucial for England again as they attempt to find a way through another low block.

Chancel Mbemba is the captain of this DR Congo side and I think he will struggle to handle the duo of Harry Kane and Jude Bellingham. 

DR Congo could very well revert to a back five here, which is the shape they took on against Portugal and Colombia - but it will also look like a 4-4-2 at times.

This back five will see Mbemba sit as the central centre back, pitting him directly against Kane and Bellingham who are both very good at winning fouls. Kane, his direct opponent, has won four fouls across his three starts at the World Cup so far (1.36 per 90). 

He’ll also have to keep an eye on Bellingham when he pushes into the space that Kane vacates by dropping deep, the Madrid man is averaging 2.01 fouls won per 90 at the World Cup across his three starts. 

Mbemba has already picked up a yellow card at the World Cup after receiving one against Portugal in the opening game. He collected three yellow cards across just nine starts for Lille during the 25/26 campaign. 

This whole England squad is very good when it comes to winning fouls, even the centre back partnership of Konsa and Guehi both averaged a foul won per 90 each during the 25/26 season and both have been targeted as the base of England’s build up so far. 

Guehi has been hauled down nine times across his three starts at the World Cup, with seven of these fouls being won against Ghana in England’s second game of the tournament. DR Congo can be just as aggressive out of possession as Ghana were, they committed 16 fouls against Colombia in their second group game and can target Guehi through their attacking partnership of Bakambu and Wissa.

The DR Congo strikers have committed seven fouls between them so far (2.6 per 90) and will have to chase down long balls up to them against the likes of Guehi and Konsa who are very good at drawing challenges in these situations having done so regularly for their club sides over the last season.