- 4 minutes ago
England's World Cup journey continues into the round of 16, but it wasn't easy v DR Congo. After going 0-1 down, Thomas Tuchel's side fought back with a change in tactics, key substitutions and the right boot of Harry Kane of course. But just how key was the hydration break in all of this too? Jacob Horsfall is here to break it down.
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00:00It's still coming home, lads, don't you worry.
00:02Yes, England did make it difficult,
00:04but they got the win that they deserved in the end.
00:07I'm Jacob Horsforth, 4-4-2's resident tactician,
00:09and this is how England eventually broke through Congo.
00:19England began the game really, really passive.
00:22You see, the wingers were wary to engage with the Congo wide players,
00:25whilst the England midfielders wanted to tuck in
00:27and drop back into the defence to allow the England full-backs
00:30to be the ones who were aggressive in the wide flanks,
00:33which, to me, suggests to go maybe got the initial plan a little bit wrong.
00:38England's midfield bloc didn't want to engage at all out of possession.
00:42Whenever Congo worked it wide,
00:43they were able to combine to create space beyond the aggressive England full-backs,
00:47which obviously is a huge issue for England,
00:50when Congo were overloading the wide areas
00:52and looking to use their fast and direct wingers.
00:55On top of that, the fact that the full-backs were the ones being aggressive
00:58whilst the wingers were staying high
01:00means that the centre-backs were being pulled wide into the channels.
01:03Because Nico O'Reilly is stuck to preventing this winger at all times
01:06and both England wingers are instructed to stay high,
01:10when Congo make this central run,
01:12Konza is occupied.
01:13That leaves Jed Spence isolated at the back post,
01:16Madueke then stays high,
01:17which leaves the England right-back in a 2v1,
01:20making it so hard for Jed Spence to make the right decision.
01:24And although Congo only scored once
01:26and they didn't have a boatload of opportunities,
01:29they constantly threatened England
01:30by stretching the defence
01:31and using those big switches of play
01:33to exploit the open space.
01:36Congo's attack map shows them almost entirely avoiding the central areas
01:40and constantly moving down the flanks.
01:42You then look at Konza and Gehi's heat maps
01:44and that shows them being dragged towards the channels
01:46and having to operate in those wider areas.
01:49Now, there's obviously a reason for this.
01:51And for me, I believe that it's because England expected a different game plan from Congo.
01:56We saw a back five from DR Congo against both Portugal and Colombia,
02:00which means Tucho probably expected the same,
02:03a disgustingly low low block for Congo to try hang on to a draw for as long as possible.
02:09Instead, Congo had more possession than England in the first 15
02:12and set out to play proper nice football.
02:15They pinned England into their own box on numerous occasions,
02:18looking to overload the wings before cutting the ball back to late arrivals in the box.
02:22They did look to bomb people on whenever they got the ball
02:25and I think that did catch England out quite a bit.
02:28England left both of their wingers further forward
02:30because they probably didn't expect Congo to have enough players forward
02:33to overload England's defence.
02:35Which is why the water break,
02:37for the first time ever,
02:39was amazing.
02:41Chances are coming England's way.
02:43Harry Kane said after the first water break,
02:46we upped the level.
02:47And that's exactly what happened.
02:49After that water break,
02:50England made changes both in and out of possession
02:52that allowed them to create chance after chance
02:54and really impose themselves on the game.
02:57England's wingers started to drop deeper
02:59to create two V1s against the Congo wingers,
03:01which allowed England to keep them in those wide zones
03:04and not cutting in size.
03:06The result of the water break,
03:07whatever Thomas Tucho decided to say to them,
03:09was England having 59% possession and generating 1.32 XG.
03:14Almost immediately after that break,
03:16we saw England get into these scenarios regularly.
03:19Rice got into those little pockets of space
03:20on the edge of the box regularly,
03:22which meant England could play crosses beyond the Congo defence
03:25who were flat-footed facing the ball.
03:27Which is something that Tucho has fallen back on
03:29throughout this tournament.
03:30Whenever England are up against a stubborn defence
03:32who are sat a little bit deeper,
03:33they'll start to play an abundance of crosses in the box,
03:36particularly from the half space.
03:38Against Congo, that was England's most crosses
03:40in a World Cup match since 1966 against Mexico.
03:44Which is why we saw England set out
03:46with Marcus Rashford and Nari Madowiecki,
03:48two wingers who are technically wrong-footed
03:50because that allows them to cut onto the inside,
03:53get into the pockets,
03:53and then play those wing-swinging balls
03:55beyond the opposition's defence.
03:57However, whenever England switched that ball to the wings,
04:00Congo very, very quickly made it into 2 V1s
04:02and even 3 V1s to stop that happening.
04:04So after the water break,
04:06it felt like a conscious instruction
04:08to get Declan Rice driving from deeper
04:10and arriving into the pocket much more regularly
04:13because that disrupted Congo's plan.
04:15When England were in this position
04:16and Congo had doubled up on one of the wide players,
04:18you would then have a little bit of space
04:20for someone to arrive into.
04:22And instead of Declan Rice starting there,
04:24he began darting from a deeper position
04:26to arrive onto the pass from the winger
04:28and then deliver into the box.
04:30Which, as the game went on,
04:31England really did double down on that strategy,
04:34potentially out of frustration or from trusting Thomas Tuchel.
04:38England had this sort of narrow central diamond
04:40with the wingers hanging out by the touchline.
04:42This created larger distances between Congo players
04:44and between the England and Congo players,
04:47which meant Congo were having to make up for lost ground
04:49when they were trying to defend.
04:51Now, obviously,
04:52this relies on England's winger stepping up to the plate
04:54and being aggressive and being direct,
04:56which early doors,
04:58they didn't really do.
04:59Madueke got the ball so many times in that 1v1 position
05:02and just turned back
05:04and looked to protect the ball
05:05rather than be risky and take his man on.
05:07Maybe that's because England were doubling down
05:09on those longer balls to wide areas,
05:11which I suppose make it difficult
05:12for a winger to control the ball
05:14and then instantly look to burst away.
05:15They attempted 18 long balls in the first half,
05:18for example,
05:19which not only makes it difficult
05:20for a winger to take a touch
05:21and then try build his acceleration up again,
05:23but also made it quite predictable
05:25for Congo to try and get players over,
05:27try to get coverage over
05:28and make it into those 2 and 3v1s.
05:31However, as things went on,
05:33England found a way.
05:34They managed to get Jude, Rice and Anderson
05:37occupying the two Congo pressing lines.
05:39This meant the other-sided winger was in space
05:42and England were able to fire balls across the floor.
05:44As a result,
05:45you see Congo players legging it over
05:47to try to protect space
05:48as England bombed players through.
05:50This dart from Eberechi Eze in behind
05:53combined with Rice's movement into the box
05:55allows England to pull players apart
05:57and get into little pockets of space.
06:00And in the end,
06:01that was the difference.
06:02England found a way to stretch that Congo defense,
06:04which was so compact,
06:06so aggressive,
06:07so well drilled.
06:09But because they got stretched
06:10before the end of the game,
06:12England found space
06:12to get in beyond the back line.
06:14There's a reason Thomas Tuchel said
06:15we will see the best version of us
06:17the further we go into the tournament.
06:19England needs space
06:21to really be at their best.
06:22And when you're playing against a low block,
06:24that space is a finite commodity.
06:26So you've got to find a way to create it.
06:29Which is why I really liked the Eze substitution
06:31because he came on
06:32and is a player who thrives in tight space
06:34alongside someone like Pakaio Saka,
06:36who does the same.
06:37They were able to combine really quickly,
06:39which created space
06:40for other players like Declan Rice,
06:43like Duke Bellingham,
06:44even Harry Kane inside the box.
06:46So a huge credit has to go to Tuchel,
06:48not for just the way England adapted
06:50after that first water break,
06:51but also for the substitutions
06:53that did really change the game.
06:55Video aside for a second,
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07:38But for now,
07:39let's get back to this video.
07:41England's best remarkable goal score
07:43in their history.
07:44Harry Kane, the king.
07:46Someone who has been maybe deprived
07:48of these big England moments,
07:50but stepped up in one of the biggest moments
07:51of England knockout tournaments in my lifetime
07:54with two absolutely sensational goals.
07:58First, we have the header.
07:59Now, Gordon will get a lot of credit for this goal,
08:01but Kane's movement is sensational.
08:03The first cross leaves him inside the six-yard box,
08:06but instead of moving to create a direct option for Gordon,
08:09he delays and moves as the ball is coming in,
08:12which gives him the chance to attack the ball unchallenged.
08:14However, even though he did score that goal,
08:17Harry Kane did struggle for a large part.
08:18Again, that's something Thomas Tuchel will want to look at
08:20because whether or not he was coming deeper,
08:22trying to obviously link play with the midfield,
08:24or he was sitting around the 18-yard box
08:27trying to get onto crosses,
08:29Congo had one or two players stuck to him like glue.
08:33As a result, Kane competed in eight ground and aerial duels
08:36and he lost six of them.
08:38But the problem is,
08:39when you're marking Harry Kane
08:41and you take him out the game for 88 minutes, for example,
08:44well, those two minutes,
08:45they're enough for Harry Kane to make an impact.
08:47They're enough for him to take you out of the tournament
08:50and he will put you to bed if you just give him a sniff,
08:53which is what he did for England against Congo.
08:56When England pick up the rebound for the second goal,
08:58Congo have plenty of players back,
09:00but those two players who have man-marked Kane
09:02have let their guard down.
09:04That probably comes as a part of being fatigued.
09:06It's been a long game for Congo.
09:07They defended so well, they work so hard.
09:09But that's the thing with England.
09:11They've got superstars.
09:12So as the game goes on,
09:13England, even when they're a goal behind,
09:15become even more favourable
09:17because they just keep going.
09:18They've got so many moments in this team.
09:20Gordon does really well to work a way
09:22to open the pass to Kane
09:23and as King H receives it,
09:25he steps sideways,
09:26probably anticipating the Congo defenders
09:28would follow that move like they followed him all game.
09:31The problem is,
09:32he only takes one more touch before releasing his shot,
09:34which gives none of these Congo players
09:36time to set or predict his move.
09:38And when it hits the top of the net,
09:39well, let's be honest,
09:42not many go,
09:43actually not,
09:43no one is stopping a Harry Kane shot
09:46where you don't see the ball coming,
09:48you don't see him even lining up his shot
09:50and he hits it with that much power
09:51into the roof of the net.
09:53I mean, Kane is now joint third top scorer
09:55in the 2026 World Cup at the time of recording.
09:58And it shouldn't really come as a surprise,
10:00not only because Harry Kane's
10:01arguably the best striker on the planet,
10:03but also because England have created
10:06so many chances this tournament.
10:08This is fourth for XG generated
10:10in this tournament at the time recorded
10:12with 2.16 of that coming against Congo.
10:15Don't get me wrong,
10:16England's performance wasn't perfect,
10:18especially that first 20 minutes
10:19was actually very, very worrying.
10:21You do the same against Mexico,
10:23you do the same against France
10:24and that could be England's tournament all over.
10:27But, if England had scored those two goals first
10:30and Congo had scored one
10:31and the game panned out in pretty much the same way,
10:34we would not be seeing all the comments
10:35that we are seeing about the England team.
10:37The performance wasn't good,
10:38but it certainly wasn't horrific.
10:40It was another game against a stubborn defence
10:42who probably did shock a lot of the coaching staff.
10:45Now we move on to Mexico,
10:47it's a big game at the Azteca
10:49and it's probably England's biggest test so far.
10:52Will the Mexico game plan
10:54play into the way Thomas Tuchel wants to play
10:56or will there be another stubborn team
10:58that England have to try
11:00and get their best players
11:01providing some big, big moments?
11:03I'm sure we'll find out.
11:05I've been Jacob Orsford,
11:06this has been 442
11:06and we'll see you again.
11:09Whether or not England beat Mexico,
11:11they'll probably decide on how soon you'll see me.
11:13Peace.
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