WORLD CUP BETTING PREVIEW - ENGLAND VS DR CONGO

World Cup

2026-07-01 - England vs DR Congo

A Sports Betting Preview by Auls

England v DR Congo
Football: World Cup Last 32
Wednesday 1st July 2026 - Kick Off 12pm (EST)
British Time 5pm

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England

Thomas Tuchel will be aware of some of the criticism aimed at his selection of the England squad, and he may have heard some of the negativity around the performances at the World Cup Finals, but ultimately he will not care. Instead the manager knows he will be judged on the results and England have made it out of the Group Stage with an unbeaten record.

There was so much excitement after the 4-2 win over Croatia, but England have not given the fans too much of that in the goalless draw with Ghana and then the 2-0 win over Panama. Importantly the seven points have secured England top spot in the Group, which means being placed in their Seeded position in the Knock Out Bracket, while back to back clean sheets will give the manager something to build upon.

England did not impress in two friendly games played in March against Uruguay and Japan, two teams that have failed to make the Last 16 of the World Cup. However, June was a stronger month for the team as they put together a 5 match unbeaten run and England secured 4 clean sheets.

Injuries will always have a big impact at these short tournaments and England look set to be without Reece James and Jarell Quansah. Declan Rice should be available, which means the manager has a big decision to make in the middle of the park, while the balance in the wide areas continues to be an issue.

Predicted Line Up: Pickford, Spence, O'Reilly, Konsa, Guehi, Rice, Anderson, Bellingham, Saka, Rashford and Kane (4-2-3-1)

DR Congo

They looked like a team that had the quality that would be needed to make it out of the Group Stage, even as one of the best third place teams, and DR Congo put themselves in a great position from the outset of the tournament. The opening draw with Portugal gave them every chance, although there was some pressure on DR Congo to show a different side of themselves in the 'must win' situation of the final Group game.

Falling behind to Uzbekistan would have ramped up the pressure, especially as DR Congo were well aware that only a win would earn them a spot in the Last 32. Late goals earned them a deserved victory when all was said and done and DR Congo will take some confidence from the performances produced against Portugal and Colombia ahead of this opening Knock Out tie.

DR Congo needed a goal in Extra Time to edge past Jamaica and take their place in the World Cup Finals, but that did mean the team had failed to win any of 5 games in normal time before beating Uzbekistan 3-1. The defensive shape has been key for DR Congo who have only conceded more than one goal in 1 of the last 16 games played in all competitions. However, it should be noted that DR Congo have only scored more than once in 4 of those 16 matches.

The squad looks about as healthy as can be hoped, although a system tweak is likely so DR Congo are set up in a similar manner as they were in the first two games of the tournament.

Predicted Line Up: Mpasi, Mbemba, Tuanzebe, Kapuadi, Wan-Bissaka, Masuaku, Moutoussamy, Makau, Kayembe, Bakambu and Wissa (5-3-2)

Head to Head

This is the first competitive meeting between these nations.

Prediction

After coming into the tournament with plenty of respect attached to the DR Congo rearguard action, credit has to be given to this squad and the management for making sure that part of the football has remained able to cope with the increased level of opponent.

DR Congo do not concede a lot of goals and containing Portugal and Colombia to a single strike each is not to be dismissed- they were perhaps a little fortunate against Colombia, but in the main DR Congo have shown they can be organised and hard to beat and that is how they will set up in this Last 32 tie.

The expectation is that they will go back to a 5-3-2 after a more attacking approach to a must win game against Uzbekistan, but that is not a criticism.

The feeling will be that they can find at least one or two big opportunities to hurt England as long as they stay in the game and build the pressure on one of the favourites.

Finding a bit more in the attacking third is key after limited chances created against Portugal and Colombia, but there is plenty of Premier League experience within the DR Congo camp and that can help to try and exploit vulnerabilities.

There have been one or two in the England performances, even when earning clean sheets against Ghana and Panama, while Thomas Tuchel's team have been disappointing in the last couple of games. Beating Croatia is one thing, but this is going to be another game in which England will be asked to find the creativity in the final third that they struggled to produce in the latter two games in the Group.

Despite that, England did create the chances to beat both Ghana and Panama and only a bit of poor finishing cost them against the former of those opponents.

There is still real room for improvement for this England team if they are going to win the World Cup, but Thomas Tuchel will be happy enough with what he has seen defensively. One or two moments of concern have cropped up, which is not a surprise in a game of football, but they have largely contained the threat of Ghana and Panama and England should be able to keep DR Congo at arm's length in this one.

With that said, another win to nil will not be a big surprise in favour of England as they continue to make their way through the tournament.

The Pick :

England 1-0 DR Congo

FIXED ODDS BETTING :

I'll back England Win to Nil at 1.80 with Bet365