England's route to World Cup final becomes clearer after knocking out DR Congo

England have made it through to the last 16 after beating DR Congo, thanks to a second-half revival from Harry Kane. The Three Lions' skipper needed to lead by example in the second-half, with his nation a goal down due to Brian Cipenga's seventh-minute strike. Having been denied a penalty in the opening 45, despite looking to have been brought down by Lionel Mpasi in the Congo box, Kane thrived under the pressure to make a difference and secure England's spot in the round of 16. With 15 minutes of play remaining, the Bayern Munich marksman headed home to level the match before firing a rocket from inside the box 86 minutes into the match to give his nation the lead for the first time - England securing a hard-earned 2-1 win overall. Now Thomas Tuchel's attention can turn to preparations for the last-16, where the Three Lions face Mexico at the Estadio Azteca. England are presented with a daunting task of taking on the home nation in their own backyard, where they have an imperious record. El Tri defeated Ecuador at the same stadium to earn their place against England, thanks to goals from Julian Quinones and Raul Jimenez. The nation extended their record to 10 World Cup matches unbeaten at the ground and their competitive record to 70 wins in 89 matches, with just two defeats coming at the stadium. If England find success against Mexico, they will face the winner of Brazil and Norway in the competition's quarter-final at Miami Stadium. Erling Haaland fired his nation to victory over the Ivory Coast, while Brazil secured a narrow win over Japan thanks to Gabriel Martinelli's stoppage-time strike. That match will take place on July 11, and if successful, England will make the trip to Atlanta for their match in the final four, which is scheduled to take place on July 15. EXPRESS SPORT ON FB!Get all the best sports news and much more on our Facebook page England's possible semi-final opponents remain wide open, with the last-32 matches still to be completed. They will take on the prevailing teams from Switzerland vs Algeria, Colombia vs Ghana, Australia vs Egypt and Argentina vs Cape Verde. Success there will put them within touching distance of the World Cup trophy. There are still a number of candidates who they will face at the MetLife Stadium in New Jersey. In that half of the draw, Canada have already earned their place in last-16 to face Morocco and Paraguay face tournament favourites France. Belgium battle against Senegal in the round of 32, while the United States take on Bosnia and Herzegovina, Spain face Austia and Portugal play against Croatia.