England were four minutes away from one of the most embarrassing exits in their World Cup history before Harry Kane rescued them with a late winner against DR Congo, securing a last-16 tie against co-hosts Mexico at the iconic Azteca Stadium in Mexico City.
Kane scored twice to drag England — and head coach Thomas Tuchel — back from the brink. Had the result gone the other way, it would have been spoken of in the same breath as the last-16 defeat to Iceland at Euro 2016 and the stunning loss to the United States at the 1950 World Cup.
Can Tuchel always lean on Kane and Bellingham?
Kane and Jude Bellingham have been England's two outstanding performers throughout this tournament, contributing goals and decisive moments across Group L victories against Croatia and Panama as well as the narrow win over DR Congo.
The problem is that no one else is consistently stepping up. Anthony Gordon made a strong impact from the bench, playing a part in both goals against DR Congo, but Marcus Rashford and Noni Madueke were ineffective, and Tuchel continues to manage Bukayo Saka carefully due to an Achilles problem.
Kane and Bellingham have shouldered England's burden willingly, but their team-mates must begin to share it — especially with Mexico looming.
Does Tuchel know his best eleven?
The constant shuffling in defence and on the flanks strongly suggests Tuchel has yet to settle on a first-choice side. The right-back position has become a running headache, worsened by Tuchel's decision to include injury-prone players Tino Livramento and Reece James in his squad. Livramento did not make it to the tournament at all, while James remains sidelined with another hamstring injury.
Jarell Quansah, primarily a central defender at Liverpool and then Bayer Leverkusen, filled in at right-back against Panama before picking up an injury, with Djed Spence starting there for the first 70 minutes against DR Congo. Declan Rice then ended the match at right-back — a move that hinted strongly at a selection crisis.
Former England captain Alan Shearer told BBC Sport:
