Thomas Tuchel wants England to treat Wednesday’s round-of-16 match against Congo in Atlanta as a game decided by small margins, not by reputation. With England meeting Congo in a knockout match, he said the team must be careful because favorites have already learned how little separates control from trouble at this World Cup.
Harry Kane was training with England in Kansas City, Missouri, on Tuesday, a day before the match that now carries the weight of England’s knockout campaign. England finished its group with two wins and one draw, but the noise around the team has not eased after a goalless draw with Ghana, a result that fed criticism because a favored side is expected to make more of its chances.
Tuchel said the picture is clearer when the tournament is viewed through the results already posted by others. Germany went out on penalties against Paraguay. Brazil needed a stoppage-time goal to beat Japan 2-1. Cabo Verde held Spain to a goalless draw before the tournament. Morocco beat Holland on penalties. Taken together, those results have turned the usual balance of power into something much less comfortable for the stronger side.
That is why Tuchel said it is hard for any team to break down an opponent, especially when it arrives as the favorite. He also said teams with nothing to lose are dangerous because they can play with freedom, and that the situation should calm England rather than alarm it. Congo has already shown it can hold its own in tougher settings, drawing 1-1 with Portugal before the tournament and now arriving in its first World Cup since 1974, as well as its first knockout round.
Sébastien Desabre gave the underdog’s answer without pretending the task is easy. He called the match difficult but by no means impossible, and said Congo has shown it can perform well against teams expected to be superior. England will still begin as the favorite, but that label has not protected anyone here, and Wednesday in Atlanta will decide whether the warning signs were a lesson or a missed one.
