By Jacob Hibbert
England survived a serious scare in the last 32 of the 2026 FIFA World Cup as they came from behind to beat the Democratic Republic of Congo 2-1 on Wednesday night.
The DRC went ahead inside seven minutes after Brian Cipenga fired past Jordan Pickford at his near post.
What followed for much of the rest of the game was frustration for anyone supporting Thomas Tuchel’s Three Lions.
Yoane Wissa had a great opportunity to put the African side 2-0 up before half-time, but hit the upright with a close-range shot.
Any England chance was quickly scuppered by goalkeeper Lionel Mpasi-Nzau, until the 75th minute when Harry Kane was able to make it 1-1 with a bullet header.
Captain Kane finally put England ahead in the 86th minute, after he got space on the edge of the box and turned to fire the ball into the roof of the net.
Whilst England survived the test of DR Congo, they are set to face an even tougher game against Mexico in the nation’s capital in the early hours of Monday morning UK time.
Here, Sport Just Sport takes a look at five key match-ups that could decide the game.
Julian Quinones vs England’s right-back
Arguably Mexico’s most explosive player at this tournament has been Al Qadsiah’s Julian Quinones.
With 33 goals in 31 games in the Saudi Pro League this season, he already has three at this World Cup and his goal against Ecuador showed just how clinical he can be in front of goal.
England’s right-back position has been questioned this tournament, with Reece James missing the DR Congo game due to injury.
Whilst he may be back for the Mexico game at the Azteca, it could be that Djed Spence will remain at right-back and be tasked with the job of stopping Quinones.
If England can nullify him, it reduces Mexico’s goal threat, but he isn’t the only capable attacker.
Raul Jimenez vs Marc Guehi
Another one of Mexico’s most important players is their best-known to many English fans.
Striker Raul Jimenez has re-signed for Wolverhampton Wanderers and leads the line for El Tri.
The 35-year-old scored his first ever World Cup goal in the opening game against South Africa and got the second goal in the win versus Ecuador.
Whilst he is aging, he has spent the last season playing Premier League football for Fulham and has shown he still has a knack for goals.
With England’s defence showing some frailties so far, you would imagine Marc Guehi is the only certain to remain from the partnership of he and Ezri Konsa.
Guehi had a solid second half of the season with Manchester City, and kept a clean sheet against Jimenez when the pair met in the Premier League in February.
If Guehi is at his best, then Mexico’s savvy scorer will find life difficult, but you get the sense that the Mexicans could live up to the occasion better than the English, with them being on home turf and having a raucous crowd roaring them on.
YOU MAY ALSO LIKE: World Cup 2026 news: Harry Kane stars as England come from behind to beat DR Congo
Harry Kane vs Cesar Montes
Kane has brought his form from his season with Bayern Munich to the World Cup, and England fans will be thankful for it.
The 32-year-old has five goals in four World Cup games so far.
Whilst Mexico will be hoping that Jimenez can trouble the English defence, the same goes for his counterpart Kane.
Kane is now England’s all-time leading goalscorer in World Cups with 13 – and if England are going to progress further, he will need to widen the gap between him and second-place Gary Lineker who has 10.
He will be tasked with scoring against a side who are yet to concede at this year’s tournament, with a defence led by Cesar Montes.
Montes is featuring at his second World Cup, but this is another duel which on paper the English should be favourites to win.
Gilberto Mora vs Declan Rice
Perhaps one of Mexico’s brightest stars at this World Cup, is one of their most unfamiliar.
Seventeen-year-old Gilberto Mora had only made four starts in the Mexican football league, Liga MX, before getting the call up to become the youngest player at this year’s World Cup.
Whilst he is yet to play a whole game for Mexico at the tournament so far, the moments he has been on the pitch have shown what he is capable of.
Mora stands at just 5ft 5ins, some two inches smaller than Lionel Messi, but has already been given the nickname ‘Mexican Pearl’ by the Spanish press after his performance at last year’s U20 World Cup.
He came close to getting his first senior international goal against Ecuador, after a curling effort went just right of the post.
With his willingness to run, the match-up in midfield between the youngster and England’s Declan Rice looks like it could be a fascinating one.
Rice is known for his ability to cover ground and carry the ball through the midfield – and this is likely to be the biggest test of Mora’s career so far.
Yet again, you would favour a world-class talent like Rice to take control, but if Mora can make life difficult for an England midfield valued at over £250m, he has the chance to announce himself on a global stage, and perhaps take Mexico through.
Thomas Tuchel vs Javier Aguirre
Arguably the most important battle in any football match takes place off the field – between the two managers.
This will be the 90th competitive game at the Azteca for Mexico, only losing two of the 89 prior to this one.
Tuchel is known for being a great tactician, most notably for Chelsea’s Champions League win back in 2021, and he is likely going to have to do the same to win here.
Javier Aguirre has a great record with this Mexico side, only losing four of the 33 matches in this his third spell in charge of the nation.
Mexico are known for their ability to play long balls, ranking sixth for accurate long passes per game, whilst they attempt fewer touches in the opposition box – ranking 26th.
As for England, Tuchel has them playing a different style, averaging 10 less accurate long balls per match than their opponents, whilst having the fourth most touches in an opposition’s box at this year’s tournament.
It will be interesting to see which manager’s style is the most effective, and whether Tuchel’s more modern style will work with England playing this game over 7,000ft above sea level.
Whilst these are the key match-ups, both sides will need to be at their best to progress to the quarter-finals and face the winner of the match between Brazil and Norway.
Michael Davey 
Simon Wilkes