The Official Democratic Republic of the Congo Match Thread (Sponsored by Michel Kuka Mboladinga "for all your living statue needs")

It was another frustrating performance for England fans last time out against Panama. Not only did we largely flatter to deceive going forward, but we appeared increasingly vulnerable defensively, something a better side than Panama will ruthlessly exploit. Still, goals after the hour mark in quick succession from Bellingham and Kane gave us the result required to top the group and set up a match against DR Congo in the first knockout round.

England's right back quandary has been exacerbated following Quansah's injury against Panama, to leave both him and Reece James on the side-lines for this game at least. Djed Spence or Ezri Konsa, the former more naturally suited to the position than the central defender, are the likely options for Thomas Tuchel as he seeks a result that will see us head south to the legendary Azteca Stadium and a final 16 match-up with the increasingly impressive Mexicans on Sunday.

Our opponents today have already achieved history by reaching the knockout stages for the first time. Their only previous qualification came back in 1974 when the country was known as Zaire, as the Leopards became the first sub-Saharan African nation to feature at a World Cup. It was a fairly ignominious campaign, as they lost all three games, failing to score and conceding 14 in the process amidst a backdrop of political wrangling, unpaid bonuses and the infamous Brazil freekick farrago. This time out the nation have fared much better, a creditable opening draw against Portugal was followed by a narrow loss to Colombia before their meeting with England was assured following three late goals against the Uzbeks to leave them third in Group K. 

There are a number of familiar faces in the DR Congo side; West Ham's Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Burnley's Axel Tuanzebe both won caps for England U21s, while Noah Sadiki (Sunderland), Edo Kayembe (Watford) and Yoane Wissa (Newcastle) all ply their trade in England. Wissa, who signed for the Geordies for more than £50m last summer may have had a poor first season on Tyneside but he leads the scoring charts for DR Congo with three goals at the tournament to date and will need to be kept quiet by what's left of our defence.

We're the early kick-off this afternoon, and although the weather outside might be a muggy 32C and rising as the sides line up for the game, the temperature-controlled atmosphere under the Mercedes-Benz Stadium roof will thankfully allow the players to play in more comfortable conditions. England fans will doubtless outnumber their counterparts, but definitely missing will be DR Congo's iconic superfan, Michel Kuka Mboladinga (AKA Lumumba Vea) who rose to prominence at the last AFCON for standing statuesque, arm raised in salute throughout proceedings, in tribute to Congolese independence leader, Patrice Lumumba. Unsurprisingly, given the US' attitude to certain nations, he was denied a visa to attend.

As this is the first meeting of the two sides and there's never been a last 32 match of any sort before, I've selected one of my earliest and favourite football memories from the knock-out stages of the World Cup. I hope a win doesn't take this long in arriving this evening.

You'd hope that with the wealth of attacking talent available in the squad that we can see off DR Congo in regulation time, however, given early exits for Germany and Netherlands already, there's a real danger that we could join them in heading home should we not offer more than we have in our last two games. If DR Congo employ similar tactics to those seen from Ghana, we could be in for another long evening. At this stage there are no second chances.

Enjoy the game, and...

COME ON ENGLAND!!!