England has a penalty shootout scenario in place

So, the knockout phase has finally arrived, and England seem to be prepared for it. The Three Lions have high hopes for this tournament and their recent record at major competitions (two Euro finals, one World Cup semi-final) puts them in the ‘favorites’ category. Since co-host Mexico defeated Ecuador, they will face the winner of England – DR Congo game and some fans are already looking towards Mexico. But the Leopards are not to be underestimated. DR Congo already proved to be a very tough nation, with a surprise draw against favorites Portugal at the beginning of the World Cup. The Leopards also managed to defeat two African giants (Nigeria and Cameroon) on their way to this tournament and have been participants in the last four AFCON’s.

And just like England faced tough defensive Ghana (in a 0-0 stalemate), they can expect similar opponent tonight.

“Defensive solidity is the bedrock of our side” explained their French coach Sebastien Desabre. Congo have played sixteen games since the middle of last September and have only conceded more than one goal on one occasion. They will be without their iconic fan, however. Michel Nkuka Mboladinga, nicknamed 'Lumumba', has been adopting his motionless pose at games since 2013 and is already a media sensation. During games, he is copying the statue of country’s first prime minister Patrice Lumumba but he won’t be doing that against England. Unlike so many others, he was denied visa to the USA, but DR Congo already has a replacement lined up. Enock Kabwende, known as 'Lumumba Jr', who has been training to stand completely still for 90 minutes, will have his big moment. Mboladinga is known for wearing a bright red jacket and tie, a yellow shirt and blue trousers with the colors coming from the DR Congo flag.

“Believe it or not, I do practice. I can actually practice 20 days out of a month, but I’ll also take a lot of rest. I am a living statue” he said recently.

Ghana lose to Croatia as England seal Group L

What about the English? They are taking everything with caution, not only due to the respect for DR Congo, but also due to their own horror memories, out of which a 1-0 defeat by Iceland at EURO 2016 is particularly painful.

“If you want to win a big prize, there is not an easy route to get there. Yes, we have some scars - but it helps you, actually. It helps you to remember the moment, how painful, but it is always possible to redirect your energy. I know everyone expects us now to beat DR Congo. We are the first ones to expect it from ourselves. It doesn’t just mean that it will happen. We still have to do an awful lot to do it. But we still expect it from us, so that pressure is fair enough” said Tuchel.

What a boost for DR Congo: "Lumumba fan" has arrived in Mexico

The German coach is also prepared for the penalty shootout as he only made a mistake once – while playing a Cup final with Dortmund against Pep Guardiola’s Bayern Munich.

“When the whistle went, I was just not prepared. I forgot to prepare for a penalty shootout. So, we ended up asking the players: ‘Do you want to shoot? Do you want to shoot? They were: one, two, three, four, five, we go. And we were absolutely not ready. And we lost it. So, a very painful experience and a big, big scar on me, because I felt really, really badly that I had let myself down, so it was the first time. It will never happen again. So, from there, we started our own programme, our own preparation. Now I go into the FA and I have — on the highest level, since years and years — a penalty programme that is so easy (for me to) just (pick up) and wait for people to tell me who are the best shooters. We trained it. We have a process in place, so we are prepared” explained Tuchel.

WORLD CUP - KNOCKOUT STAGE

Round of 32

Wednesday

Mexico - Ecuador 2-0 (2-0)

/Quiñones 22, Jimenez 31/

19.00: (1.30) England (5.20) Dr Congo (11.0)

23.00: (2.15) Belgium (3.25) Senegal (3.75)

Thursday

03.00: (1.43) USA (4.60) B&H (8.50)

22.00: (1.32) Spain (5.25) Austria (10.0)

Friday

02.00: (1.95) Portugal (3.40) Croatia (4.10)

06.00: (1.95) Switzerland (3.45) Algeria (4.00)

21.00: (3.15) Australia (2.95) Egypt (2.55)

Saturday

01.00: (1.17) Argentina (7.50) Cape Verde (16.0)

04.30: (1.70) Colombia (3.60) Ghana (5.50)

***odds are subject to change***