Harry Kane’s rescue mission keeps England’s World Cup dream alive

ATLANTA ― Harry Kane was a lighthouse in a storm Wednesday, July 1, a beacon of hope when all else failed.

No matter how unnerving England’s match against DR Congo became in Atlanta, Kane never yielded. He was calm, poised, brilliant, even, and when the Three Lions needed a hero, the 32-year-old dug deep, pulling out a World Cup rescue mission. Kane unleashed a masterful performance when the waves of defeat were rapidly crashing in.

DR Congo stunned England with an early goal in the 7th minute, leaving Kane and every Three Lions fan at Mercedes-Benz too stunned to speak, rubbing their heads in confusion. Les Léopards carried a 1-0 lead into halftime behind a defensive masterclass from goalkeeper Lionel Mpasi. Yet something shifted after the break. England began to slowly wear DR Congo down with its pressure and its advances. The once unflappable defensive wall DR Congo put up came tumbling down with one inexplicably wondrous Kane header in the 75th minute.

“As soon as he hit, I knew it was going in. I was already celebrating,” forward Anthony Gordon, who assisted Kane twice, on Wednesday.

“I remember the celebration, but it’s all the consistency that he surprised me with. Anyone can score a good goal. Anyone at this level can put the ball in a top corner, but it’s the consistency that he does it. Every day in training. Every game. Yeah, it’s phenomenal. He plays at such a high-high level.”

Kane’s goal was an infusion of energy into England’s team, which began to put intense pressure on DR Congo, cutting off any chance of scoring. It also ignited England fans across the stadium. “England! England! England!” they shouted as the Three Lions tried to find the back of the net again. They would have to wait long.

Harry Kane scored twice in the second half as England escaped DR Congo 2-1 and advanced to the World Cup round of 16 against Mexico.

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Harry Kane scored twice in the second half as England escaped DR Congo 2-1 and advanced to the World Cup round of 16 against Mexico.

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Gordon found Kane again in the 86th minute with a historic goal that will go down in World Cup history books. Kane worked his way around a DR Congo defender and ripped in a right-footed rocket for his 84th international goal for England. His second score of the day brought his tournament total up to five, tying him with Norway‘s Erling Haaland and putting him one behind France‘s Kylian Mbappe and Argentina‘s Lionel Messi in the Golden Boot race.

“That’s (the media). You’re gonna compare us. Put us on that pedestal,” Kane said post-match about being compared to Messi. “From my point of view, it’s just about doing what I can to help my team progress, and again, today, it was with a couple (of) goals, so I’m extremely pleased with that.”

Still, Kane admitted that Wednesday’s result was a product of the training session and the moments behind the scenes that not many have seen. He says he feels “as good as I’ve ever felt” to be ready for big moments and for what’s next: a round of 16 date with Mexico in Mexico City on Sunday, July 5 (8 p.m. ET, FOX). For Kane, he knows that if England wants to win its first World Cup in 60 years, the Three Lions will have to play the tough games.

“We’ll have to be ready for it. No doubt,” Kane said. “We spoke about our quality and being ourselves every game. So, we’ll go, we’ll analyze them like we do with every opponent, respect them, and hopefully we can come through.”

“I’m really excited. It’s an amazing game of football. Probably a once-in-a-lifetime atmosphere and environment. I’m really looking forward to it,” Gordon said.

“It’s great to see who you can become in that moment. I think we’re ready. We’ve got a great team. We’ve faced adversity. We hold each other accountable. So, we’re in a great place. We’ve got good momentum.”