By Trevor Stynes
ATLANTA, June 29 (Reuters) - England have yet to hit top gear at the World Cup and after a group stage played with minimum jeopardy, a round of 32 meeting with the Democratic Republic of Congo leaves little margin for error against a side buoyed by already going further than expected.
Thomas Tuchel's England topped Group L, grinding past Panama in a 2-0 win that secured first place and a simpler path in the knockout rounds on paper.
The performance level, however, remains a concern.
England were held to a frustrating scoreless draw by Ghana, and laboured again against Panama for over an hour before Jude Bellingham and Harry Kane got them over the line. As the tournament goes on, others will need to step up.
Since their opening 4-2 win over Croatia, England have looked short on imagination, low on attacking threat, and lacking the ruthlessness expected of title contenders.
Wednesday in Atlanta offers no room for complacency.
CONGOLESE COURAGE
DR Congo finished as the highest-ranked third-place finisher, a team who came close to going out but will have emerged all the stronger after coming through.
Their 3-1 win over Uzbekistan, also played in Atlanta, was a must-win match, and after going behind to an early goal, they struggled to turn things around until awarded a penalty midway through the second half.
Sebastien Desabre's side played with two up front against Uzbekistan. Against England, however, they will almost certainly revert to five at the back, which they utilised in a 1-1 draw with Portugal, and 1-0 loss to Colombia.
England will likely have key midfielder Declan Rice back in the starting lineup, but problems remain at right back.
Reece James missed the Panama win with a hamstring issue, and his replacement Jarell Quansah went off with an ankle injury. Djed Spence is expected to start against DR Congo.
For DR Congo, this World Cup is already a success, and a redemption for their only previous appearance.
In 1974, with the country then called Zaire, a swift exit arrived on the back of three defeats, where they failed to score a goal and conceded 14, nine of those coming in the loss to Yugoslavia.
They finally made their World Cup return, and did it the hard way, seeing off Jamaica in their inter-confederation playoff and despite their pre-World Cup preparations being affected by the Ebola crisis back home, the Congolese are still here.
England are one of the countries expected to go far in this tournament as they aim to end their 60-year wait for World Cup success, but will need to raise their intensity if they are to overcome a DR Congo side with nothing to lose.
A place in the last 16 against Mexico or Ecuador awaits the winners.
(Reporting by Trevor Stynes, editing byu Ed Osmond)
