Thomas Tuchel’s England side take on DR Congo in their round of 32 match on Wednesday evening. England progressed through the group as winners with two wins and a draw, while DR Congo won one and drew one to progress in third place from Group K.
England were underwhelming against Ghana and left it until after 60 minutes to score against bottom side Panama in their last group outing. Many will be hoping for more from the Three Lions if they are to go deep into this competition.
DR Congo have been one of the brilliant stories of this World Cup, as they came through Group K with a victory over Uzbekistan and a fantastic 1-1 draw with Portugal. They were also narrowly beaten by a strong Colombia side, with a Daniel Munoz goal deep into the second half making it 1-0.
England vs DR Congo Bet Builder Tip
BEST BET BUILDER TIP – under 2.5 goals @ 19/20
Before the competition commenced, I wouldn’t have imagined tipping under 2.5 goals in a game like this involving England and one of the smaller nations. However, having watched DR Congo, they can be extremely difficult to break down. To very strong sides – Portugal and Colombia – only managed to score one goal against them in qualifying, and they also conceded one against Uzbekistan. They deploy a low block, which will be frustrating for England, and I can’t see Thomas Tuchel’s side running riot. England scored more than two only once in the group stages, and I think this game will follow a similar pattern. Odds of 19/20 is favourable for there to be under 2.5 goals in this one.
Both teams to score – no (1/2)
I think England will win here, but there’s little value in backing a victory at 3/10. I don’t think it will be high scoring, but I think England will win by less than two, without conceding. While Congo conceded little, they did only score four, with three of them coming against strugglers Uzbekistan. England conceded in only one of their Group L matches, with two goals against them in their opening fixture, a 4-2 victory over Croatia who finished second. They’ve only conceded four goals in 13 matches, coming through the World Cup qualifiers with eight clean sheets in eight matches. I can’t see DR Congo causing them too many problems here.
Harry Kane over 1.5 shots on target (10/13)
As one of the best strikers on the planet, I can’t see a world in which Harry Kane doesn’t have at least two shots on target against DR Congo. The Bayern Munich striker has scored three goals at the World Cup so far, with one against Panama and two against Croatia. He has had six shots on target in those three matches, an average of two per game. He scored 61 goals in all competitions for Bayern this season, and I think he will have a minimum of two shots on target here.
ALTERNATIVE BET – Harry Kane to score @ 3/4
Taking Harry Kane to score at odds of 3/4 takes the odds of this bet builder to 13/1 with Bet MGM. If England are on it, he will have chances, and I think he will likely score in this one.
Declan Rice over 1.5 fouls (15/8)
I think there’s real value in fouls here, given the way DR Congo set up to frustrate teams. It’ll be a real battle in the middle of the park, and I think Declan Rice will make a couple of fouls. He has been carded once already at the World Cup, making two fouls in two starts for Thomas Tuchel’s side. He is was carded seven times for Arsenal last season, making 26 fouls in 36 Premier League outings. Odds of 15/8 is generous for him to make two or more fouls in this one.
Free Bets for England vs DR Congo
Jake has been on the thatsagoal.com team for over 5 years, and he is the person responsible for the bet builders across the Premier League and Champions League. His background in journalism means the articles are perfectly written, and each prediction is explained with stats and reasoning to back them up. There have been countless winners from Jake, including a 66/1 win in the FA Cup final when Manchester City were beaten by Crystal Palace.