For England manager Thomas Tuchel, the stress of a dramatic 2-1 victory over the Democratic Republic of Congo in the World Cup round of 32 on Wednesday was actually the best part.
Harry Kane scored the 12th and 13th goals of his World Cup career in the 75th and 86th minutes to lift the Three Lions through to the round of 16. But the German manager, who brought experience from stops at Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain to his first international job, left Atlanta most pleased with his squad’s temperament after a poor start and the increasingly exceptional play from Congolese goalkeeper Lionel Mpasi.
“Things stayed difficult but this team today did not accept a defeat as an outcome,” Tuchel said. “They just didn’t accept it, and that makes me very proud because they did what was necessary.
“The going got tough, and they showed up, and we got a deserved win, even if it was a late one.”
What Tuchel describes is a trait of most championship-winning teams. It’s also one that often hasn’t been true of the Three Lions, who are seeking their first major tournament title since winning the 1966 World Cup as hosts.
England improved to 2-17-5 in World Cup matches after conceding first. The other victory? None other than their 4-2 triumph over West Germany in extra time in the 1966 final.
And while it took until the late stages to reverse the outcome, Tuchel insisted he did not see a squad wilting under the legacy of previous disappointments amid high English expectations.
“I did not see any of that today and it would be so easy to see it,” Tuchel said. “It would be so easy to give in, and it would be so easy to accept that narrative. I didn’t see any of that, and that is a very, very good sign.”
It will get tougher in the round of 16 against Mexico in Mexico City on Sunday. The short turnaround won’t give England time to acclimate to the altitude above 7,000 feet. And Mexico have been among the tournament’s very best teams, posting a perfect 4-0-0 record and outscoring opponents 8-0.
The setting will also be the same as arguably the most infamous moment in English national team history: Argentine Diego Maradona’s famous and controversial “hand of god” goal against England in a 1986 quarterfinal.
“More and more obstacles will maybe come, but we are ready for that,” Tuchel said. “We need it. Maybe we have the ideal platform now to genuinely believe that we are ready for that.”
As for Kane, his fourth and fifth goals of the tournament pulled him into a third-place tie with Norway’s Erling Haaland for the tournament lead, one behind Argentina’s Lionel Messi and France’s Kylian Mbappe.
It’s a rarity to see so many stars producing big numbers in a big tournament, and doing it in considerably different ways. But Tuchel sees one similarity.
“They’re all sharks,” he said. “If they smell blood, they come and score.”
–Ian Nicholas Quillen, Field Level Media
