Captain Harry Kane scored twice in the second half on Wednesday (July 1) to help England secure a dramatic 2-1 comeback victory over DR Congo in the FIFA World Cup 2026 Round of 32 match. At Atlanta Stadium, England fell behind after conceding in the seventh minute, but Kane, England’s all-time leading scorer in both FIFA World Cup history and men’s international football, struck twice after the break to rescue the Three Lions and keep their title hopes alive.
The victory over DR Congo ended England’s 60-year wait for a FIFA World Cup win after conceding the opening goal.
England’s previous World Cup victory after going conceding the opening goal of a match came in the 1966 FIFA World Cup final against West Germany at Wembley Stadium in London
on July 30, 1966. Since then, they had failed to win a World Cup match after conceding first until Kane inspired the comeback on July 1.
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England won a World Cup match after conceding the opening goal for only the second time in their history, and first since the 1966 final against West Germany.
Harry Kane’s second-half brace took the Three Lions through to the last 16. pic.twitter.com/lsGZJggPgd
— Opta Analyst (@OptaAnalyst) July 1, 2026
Kane’s two goals also took his FIFA World Cup tally to 13, moving him past Brazilian legend Pelé, who scored 12 goals in football’s biggest tournament.
Most goals in FIFA World Cup
| RANK | PLAYER | COUNTRY | GOALS | MATCHES | EDITIONS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Lionel Messi | Argentina | 19 | 29 | 2006, 2010, 2014, 2018, 2022, 2026 |
| 2. | Kylian Mbappé | France | 18 | 18 | 2018, 2022, 2026 |
| 3. | Miroslav Klose | Germany | 16 | 24 | 2002, 2006, 2010, 2014 |
| 4. | Ronaldo | Brazil | 15 | 19 | 1994, 1998, 2002, 2006 |
| 5. | Gerd Müller | West Germany | 14 | 13 | 1970, 1974 |
| 6. | Just Fontaine | France | 13 | 6 | 1958 |
| Harry Kane | England | 13 | 15 | 2018, 2022, 2026 | |
| 8. | Pelé | Brazil | 12 | 14 | 1958, 1962, 1966, 1970 |
| 9. | Sándor Kocsis | Hungary | 11 | 5 | 1954 |
| Jürgen Klinsmann | West Germany/Germany | 11 | 17 | 1990 1994, 1998 |
The brace also increased Kane’s tally to five goals at the FIFA World Cup 2026. He has now scored five of England’s eight goals in this year’s tournament, with only Argentina’s Lionel Messi and France’s Kylian Mbappé ahead of him in the Golden Boot race. Both Messi and Mbappé have scored six goals each.
Most goals in FIFA World Cup 2026
| POSITION | PLAYER | COUNTRY | MATCHES | GOALS |
| 1 | Lionel Messi | Argentina | 3 | 6 |
| Kylian Mbappe | France | 4 | 6 | |
| 3 | Erling Haaland | Norway | 3 | 5 |
| Harry Kane | England | 4 | 5 | |
| 5 | Ousmane Dembele | France | 4 | 4 |
| Vinicius Junior | Brazil | 4 | 4 |
Kane netted both of his goals in the final 15 minutes of regulation time, becoming the first England player to score multiple goals from the 75th minute onwards in a FIFA World Cup match.
1 – Harry Kane è il primo giocatore dell’Inghilterra a segnare due volte dal 75° minuto di gioco in avanti nei tempi regolamentari di una gara dei Mondiali FIFA. Provvidenziale.#FIFAWorldCup pic.twitter.com/omv5ts2r5z
— OptaPaolo (@OptaPaolo) July 1, 2026
The victory over DR Congo booked England’s place in the Round of 16, where they will face Mexico at Estadio Azteca in Mexico City on Sunday (July 5).
Unlike England, Mexico have won all four of their matches at the FIFA World Cup 2026 and are yet to concede a goal. The co-hosts defeated Ecuador 2-0 in the Round of 32 match on Tuesday (Wednesday IST).
