England and DR Congo have never faced each other at any level, making their World Cup round of 32 meeting an occasion with absolutely no history to it.On paper, England is the clear favorite, backed by greater squad depth and a stronger World Cup pedigree. It remains unbeaten thus far, but its attacking output has been inconsistent, scoring just six goals and being held to a 0-0 draw by Ghana. The underlying numbers also paint a mixed picture, with an xG efficiency of 0.89—meaning England are converting chances at a below-average rate—compared to DR Congo’s 1.3.DR Congo, meanwhile, have been one of the stories of the tournament in their first World Cup since 1974 (as Zaire), reaching the knockout stage after a draw with Portugal and a 3-1 win over Uzbekistan. It has conceded just three goals and averages a 62.71-second ball recovery time, highlighting its aggressive pressing style. Under Sébastien Desabre, the Leopards have also never lost by more than one goal, underlining a resilient, counter-attacking side capable of making this far tougher than expected.Live Match TrackerMatch MomentumMatch StatsLineupsMatch SummaryREAD THE LATEST WORLD CUP NEWS, ANALYSIS AND INSIGHT FROM SI FCAdd us as a preferred source on GoogleFollow