Within the knockout phases of a serious event, there’s a real threat of elimination no matter the opposition.
Germany’s elimination by the hands of Paraguay – a group that began the World Cup shedding 4-1 to Mauricio Pochettino’s USA – proves that time nicely.
England’s subsequent opponents, DR Congo, completed their group in third place, beating Uzbekistan, drawing to Portugal and shedding to Colombia, however how do they play and what challenges may they pose in opposition to head coach Thomas Tuchel’s males?
DR Congo face England on Wednesday (17:00 BST), reside on BBC One and iPlayer.
All through the event to date, they’ve arrange in a 5-3-2 formation, a form that has been constant each on and off the ball.
Their common possession to date sits at 38.8% which pales compared to England’s 65.7% – second solely to Spain (70.3%). This means that DR Congo are a cussed defence-first group seeking to spring counter-attacks on their opposition.
And whereas that is principally true, they’re surprisingly front-footed in how they defend.
This might change in opposition to England, however in opposition to each Portugal and Columbia, opponents that dominated the ball, DR Congo pressed excessive in opposition to them from goal-kick conditions.
From their defensive block, they give the impression of being to carry their line increased than you’d anticipate from a group with 38% possession, not dropping into their very own field as typically.
There may be additionally a bent for his or her gamers to use stress, notably to the participant on the ball, and close by team-mates across the ball.
All of those selections, though extra proactive than merely tenting in their very own field, are quirks England may look to use.
