England are through to the knockout stage of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, and they did it the clean way: winning the group outright.
A 2-0 victory over Panama on June 27 was enough to put England atop Group L with 7 points, setting up a round-of-32 fixture against DR Congo on July 1 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta. Kickoff is scheduled for 5 p.m. BST, noon local time.
Jude Bellingham and captain Harry Kane got the goals against Panama.
What England are walking into
DR Congo qualified from their group as one of the better third-placed teams, which is a feature of the 2026 World Cup’s expanded format. This edition of the tournament fields 48 nations, making it the largest in the competition’s history.
