ATLANTA (AP) — England handled the pressure and is now headed to Mexico City.
Harry Kane ensured England avoided an early exit from the inaugural 48-team World Cup by scoring two second-half goals in a come-from-behind 2-1 win over Congo in the round of 32 on Wednesday.
The late victory, England’s second ever at the World Cup after conceding the first goal, earned the 1966 champions a spot in the round of 16 and a match against co-host Mexico.
“It was just about pounding the rock, keep pounding the rock and our moment would come,” Kane said after scoring his fourth and fifth goals of the tournament. “We spoke about people having hero moments. It can be anyone in the team … Whoever it is, we have hero moments, and for me it was the day.”
That team’s next match will be played at the Azteca Stadium, the site of Argentina great Diego Maradona’s infamous “Hand of God” goal that eliminated England from the 1986 World Cup quarterfinals. Getting there didn’t come easy against a Congo team that nearly pulled off one of the biggest upsets in World Cup history.
England’s only other World Cup victory after trailing 1-0 came in the 1966 final against West Germany at Wembley Stadium. “That’s a good sign. It just shows you the level of determination and the level of belief and also the level of focus,” England coach Thomas Tuchel said. “I didn’t feel the weight on their shoulders and I found that we played it with the exactly right attitude and we trusted our spirit.
“The goalkeeper kept on saving incredible saves ... but this team today did not accept a defeat as an outcome.”
Kane made sure the early deficit wasn’t a problem Wednesday at Mercedes-Benz Stadium by extending his record as his country’s leading scorer in tournament history to 13. He has a record 84 goals for the national team in total.