England were 15 minutes from humiliation - the issues Tuchel must solve
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- Harry Kane scored twice in the final stages against DR Congo to spare England what the BBC framed as potential humiliation on par with the 2016 Iceland loss and 1950 defeat to the United States.
- England advance to a last-16 meeting with co-hosts Mexico at Azteca Stadium in Mexico City, with Kane and Jude Bellingham again their leading scorers through the group stage and knockout opener.
- Thomas Tuchel is still shuffling his right-back options — Reece James is out with another hamstring injury, Tino Livramento didn't make the squad, and Declan Rice ended the DR Congo win deployed at right-back, a move Alan Shearer praised but Micah Richards rejected as wasteful of Rice's midfield quality.
- Tuchel's exclusion of natural creators Cole Palmer and Phil Foden continues to draw scrutiny, with the BBC noting England lacked creative force in the goalless draw with Ghana and questioning whether Morgan Gibbs-White or Alex Scott should have been preferred over Jordan Henderson.
- Ollie Watkins and Ivan Toney have barely featured as Kane understudies — Watkins got six minutes as a late substitute against Panama, while Toney has not appeared in any of England's four games.
- Wayne Rooney warned after the DR Congo win that England are 'so open in midfield' when they lose the ball and would be 'in big trouble' against a better side if the issue is not fixed.
Why it matters: England's progression depends almost entirely on Kane staying fit and firing, since their two named backup strikers have logged a combined six minutes and Tuchel has no settled right-back or defensive shape heading into a hostile Azteca atmosphere against co-hosts Mexico — a single injury or off-day for Kane could expose a squad whose depth Tuchel has barely tested.
