Kane's double saves England at the last moment

Harry Kane carried England to the World Cup Round of 16 with two goals in the last 15 minutes. In the match played on Wednesday, England achieved a difficult comeback victory by beating Demokratik Kongo Cumhuriyeti 2-1. England, shaken by Brian Cipenga's goal in the 7th minute at the start of the match, remained behind for a long time. However, captain Kane equalized with a header in the 75th minute and brought victory to his team with a magnificent strike four minutes before the end.

Despite England exerting intense pressure in the first half of the match, they faced the saves of Kongo goalkeeper Lionel Mpasi and the resistance of the defense. Mpasi and the defense made critical interventions in positions such as Declan Rice's free kick, Jude Bellingham's header, and Marcus Rashford's shot. Kongo missed the chance to increase the difference with Yoane Wissa's shot hitting the post from Aaron Wan-Bissaka's cross in the 43rd minute. In the second half as well, Mpasi continued to challenge England by saving Bellingham's shot.

England head coach Thomas Tuchel, emphasizing the difficulty of the match, said, "First shot, first goal. Then things got even harder. After the first water break, we dominated the game. The substitutes who came on put in the effort and we won. It was a deserved victory but we had to work very hard." While Tuchel brought fresh blood to his team with substitutions, he was particularly effective in the goal where Anthony Gordon provided the assist.

Kane's header from Gordon's cross in the 75th minute met the nets by beating the defense with a typical striker's move. Then, he won the match with a goal he floated and struck just outside the Kongo penalty area with a magnificent shot coming at 100 km/s. This goal became Kane's 13th goal in the World Cup, moving him up one place in the all-time list by passing Pele. Kane said, "It was a crazy match, their goalkeeper made incredible saves. It was our best performance in the tournament so far. We are now at a stage where we need to grind out victories, and we did that today."

England escaped a huge surprise in the match played with the support of 68,239 spectators and will now face hosts Meksika in Meksiko on Sunday. This victory is of critical importance in terms of sustaining England's contention in the tournament. Kane's performance boosted the team's morale, while Tuchel's tactical changes also played an important role in the victory. Although Kongo deserved applause for the resistance it showed, it could not avoid elimination due to a lack of concentration in the final part.