England couldn't do it the easy way. Of course they couldn't. But Harry Kane, because it's always Harry Kane, made sure they did it.

A come-from-behind 2-1 win over DR Congo. A last-16 date with co-hosts Mexico. Job done — just don't ask us to call it pretty.

Kane Bailed Us Out. Again.

Let's be straight about what happened here. England went behind. Against DR Congo. At a World Cup. The sort of result that has Twitter already drafting the obituaries and your uncle texting "I told you so" from the pub car park.

And then Kane stepped up and reminded everyone why he still wears that armband. Two goals. A proper captain's performance when the team around him looked lost, disjointed, and frankly a bit nervous. We don't need to dress it up — England were lacklustre for large spells of this match. The Mirror said it themselves: Kane had to rescue this England side. That's not the narrative you want going into a knockout round, but it's the honest one.

What's telling is that when England needed someone to grab the game by the scruff of the neck, it wasn't a collective effort that turned things around. It was one man with the weight of a nation on his shoulders, doing what he does. You can question the system, question the manager's decisions, question why England always seem to make it harder than it needs to be — and we will, trust us — but you cannot question Kane right now. He is carrying this side and he knows it.

Mexico Next — And That's a Different Problem Entirely

Beating DR Congo to reach the last 16 is the minimum expectation. What comes next is where England's tournament gets properly tested.

Mexico aren't just another opponent — they're co-hosts. They'll have the crowd, the noise, the occasion working in their favour. The last-16 stage of a World Cup is where England's tournament has historically gone to die, and we're not about to pretend that changes automatically just because Kane found his shooting boots against Congo.

If England turn up against Mexico the way they did in the first half of this game — passive, slow to press, waiting for something to happen rather than making it happen — Mexico will punish them. Simple as that. The co-hosts will have motivation, atmosphere, and enough quality to expose an England side that hasn't yet convinced us they know what their best eleven looks like or how they want to play.

Kane can't keep dragging England over the line on his own. At some point, the rest of the squad has to show up with him.

Our Verdict

England are through, and we'll take it. A win is a win and Kane's quality is undeniable — two goals to rescue a game that was sliding away from us is the mark of a proper striker in form.

But let's not kid ourselves. This performance raised more questions than it answered. Mexico will be a genuine test of whether this England team is actually built for a deep run or whether we're just riding one man's brilliance until the wheels come off.

We're cautiously optimistic. Emphasis on cautiously.