All major sources align: this is England's match to lose. They are ranked 42 places above DR Congo (FIFA #4 vs #46), opened as colossal −278 favourites (73.5% implied), and arrive as Group L winners — unbeaten and battle-tested. Thomas Tuchel vowed "the bigger the game, the bigger England will be" — and this is exactly the game he gets to deliver on that promise with a refreshed, near-full-strength squad. Crucially, Declan Rice is set to return to the starting XI after being rested against Panama, per OneFootball's confirmed pre-match report. Jude Bellingham has been England's standout performer, scoring in the Panama win. Harry Kane has now broken his own England WC record with 3 goals — the Bayern striker is the deadliest player at this tournament. DR Congo are no pushovers: their 1-1 with Portugal (Wissa header), disciplined 0-1 loss to Colombia and 3-1 win over Uzbekistan show heart and tactical nous. Wissa is joint top African scorer with 3 goals. But they have never reached this stage before and face a quantum leap in quality. OneFootball (Dan Smith) predicts 3-1 England. FootballPredictions.com predicts 2-0 England. TheFootyStatman predicts 2-0 England. Our consensus: England win 3-1 — a statement display with Bellingham and Kane on the scoresheet, but Wissa snaps one back to make it interesting.