England’s Great Escape! 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Harry Kane SAVES The World Cup Dream! (DR Congo Reaction)

It’s the great escape in Atlanta! 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿🔥 In this episode of Make Football Great Again, host Harry Brent is joined by the Mirror’s Chief Football Writer, John Cross, to break down England’s stressful, heart-stopping 2-1 victory over DR Congo in the final group stage match of the 2026 World Cup. After trailing for 70 minutes, captain Harry Kane once again played saviour, flipping the match with two late goals to book the Three Lions a spot in the Round of 16. We dive into the controversial penalty shout that VAR ignored, the impact of FIFA's new hydration breaks, and give our brutal player ratings for the squad (with a few harsh realities for Marcus Rashford and Djed Spence). 🔥 In this episode, we unpack: Harry Kane's Heroics: Why his second goal will go down in England World Cup folklore. The Penalty Controversy: Did Kane leave his foot in, or did the referee and VAR completely bottle a clear foul? Midfield Fatigue: Is Declan Rice running on empty? Why the Rice & Elliot Anderson pairing isn't working. The Left-Side Void: The ongoing struggles of Marcus Rashford when starting versus coming off the bench. The Ultimate Challenge: Previewing the Round of 16 clash against Mexico at the infamous Estadio Azteca, where the hosts have a 79% win rate. 🔔 Subscribe to Make Football Great Again so you never miss a match reaction or preview during England’s 2026 World Cup campaign! #EnglandFootball #WorldCup2026 #HarryKane #JudeBellingham #DeclanRice #ThreeLions #EstadioAzteca #EnglandVsMexico #SoccerPodcast #JohnCross ⏳ The Timecodes 0:00 – Intro: England's heart-stopping 2-1 victory over DR Congo 1:47 – The Emotional Rollercoaster: Going from sheer panic to absolute glory 3:02 – Attacking Fluidity: Was this England's best attacking performance of the tournament? 4:56 – The Penalty Controversy: Did VAR rob Harry Kane before halftime? 7:12 – FIFA's Hydration Breaks: How the controversial pauses saved England's tactical setup 9:44 – Player Ratings: The Defence (Pickford, Spence, Guéhi, Konsa) 11:08 – Midfield Ratings: Why Elliot Anderson and Declan Rice cannot play together 13:03 – Attacking Ratings: Jude Bellingham, Marcus Rashford's struggles, and Harry Kane's heroics 15:58 – The Subs: Anthony Gordon and Bukayo Saka's impact 16:17 – 3 Things We Learned: The broken left flank, Djed Spence's starting spot, and Declan Rice's exhaustion 19:22 – The Estadio Azteca Factor: Previewing the historic Round of 16 clash against Mexico 21:38 – Thomas Tuchel's Job Security: Is a Round of 16 exit acceptable for England? 22:55 – Outro: Looking ahead to Sunday's Azteca preview Make Football Great Again is the definitive 48-nation roadmap to the 2026 World Cup, combining deep-dive interviews from across the globe with legendary tournament anecdotes from our veteran reporters. Read all of the latest football news: https://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/ Subscribe to our new Make Football Great Again newsletter for everything World Cup 2026: https://www.mirror.co.uk/newsletter-preference-centre/?view=Solus&mailingListId=c4fc9b20-3be6-4105-9f07-3ae274c4031b&utm_source=solusarticle #England #ThreeLions #Football #Soccer #WorldCup #WorldCup2026 #2026WorldCup #podcast Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices