England 2-1 DR Congo: a comeback to remember at The Loxley

Affinity members packed into The Loxley for England's first knockout match of the 2026 World Cup against DR Congo, and it turned out to be exactly the kind of night that stays with you.

The group had the raised area to the left of the bar reserved exclusively for Affinity members, and from 4:30pm onwards people filtered in, grabbed a drink ahead of the 5pm kick-off.

What followed was a nervy, dramatic 90 minutes. Congo DR came out with real intent and punished England inside seven minutes, Brian Cipenga finishing to give the Congolese a lead they would hold for the best part of an hour. The first half belonged to Congo.

But the second half was a different story. England grew into it, and with quarter of an hour to go, Harry Kane nodded in from Anthony Gordon's cross to bring the scores level. Then, with just four minutes remaining, Kane struck again with a brilliant finish to complete the comeback and send the place into uproar.

Two goals in the last fifteen minutes. An extraordinary turnaround.

Kane took his World Cup tally to 13 goals, cementing his place as England's greatest ever scorer on the biggest stage. Not a bad evening's work.

It was the kind of match that reminds you why watching football in good company beats watching it alone every time. The shared groans, the nervous silences, and then the absolute scenes when that second goal went in.

England are through to the last 16 and face Mexico at the Azteca!

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