England goalkeeper Jordan Pickford says Thomas Tuchel instills so much fighting spirit in the camp, the Three Lions players are ready to “go to war” alongside the former Chelsea boss.
Tuchel’s side have not yet hit top form at the World Cup, bar the second 45 minutes against Croatia, with a goalless draw against Ghana followed by an unconvincing 2-0 defeat of Panama on Saturday night.
Nevertheless, Pickford, who will be in goal when England face DR Congo in the round of 32 tomorrow afternoon, says there is no lack of motivation within the ranks.
He told BBC Sport: “[We have] belief, togetherness. I think we have had that previously, but I think the manager’s got that belief in us.
“The meetings the manager has with us, it is like you are ready to go to war. He puts that belief in you. There are different meetings he has tactically, and it is like ‘yeah, it is go time.’
“We all want the same goal, we all want that end goal and this squad he has picked, we are all in good spirits.”
Pickford has had one or two rash moments in the three games so far but says his work with a psychologist has put him in a good place.
“[It is] a lot of growth I am working on and being the best version of myself,” the Everton keeper said in an interview with ITV Sport.
“We have got targets, who I am working with, and it is about being the best version of me and where that can take me. We know the journey it can take me on, and believing in that, and being me.”
DR Congo qualified as one of the best third-placed finishers and have plenty of Premier League players in their squad, including Newcastle striker Yoane Wissa.
Wissa endured a miserable first season on Tyneside but has looked sharper at the World Cup with three goals in three games.
“I didn’t show my best face at Newcastle but I knew that my time will come and this time is now,” he said.
“I just show everyone now I’m in a good place, I’m good physically, I’m good mentally, so that’s why I’m proud to show that I’m a good player.
“I know how to play football and especially when I’m good physically my head is calm, and the rest follows.”
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World Cup 2026: England v DR Congo team news
Stand-in right-back Jarell Quansah sustained a knock against Panama and is a doubt. One of Djed Spence or John Stones will come into the back four. Declan Rice will return to the midfield with Morgan Rogers likely to drop out.
DR Congo could revert to a five-man defence with Brian Cipenga missing out.
England v DR Congo World Cup 2026 predicted line-ups
England: Pickford; Spence, Konsa, Guehi, O’Reilly; Anderson, Rice; Saka, Bellingham, Rashford; Kane
DR Congo: Mpasi-Nzau; Wan-Bissaka, Tuanzebe, Mbemba, Kapuadi, Masuaku; Moutoussamy, Sadiki, Kayembe; Wissa, Bakambu
Where to watch England v DR Congo: TV channel, live online streams
England versus DR Congo kicks off tomorrow afternoon at 5pm. You can watch it on BBC One and stream via the BBC iPlayer.
World Cup 2026: England v DR Congo stats
- England are unbeaten in 11 competitive fixtures under Thomas Tuchel (W10) – only Ron Greenwood (16, between 1977 and 1980) and Roy Hodgson (14, between 2012 and 2013) enjoyed longer undefeated starts to their tenures
- This will be the second time England have encountered two African teams at the same World Cup – in 1990 they beat Egypt 1-0 in the group stage and knocked out Cameroon 3-2 in the quarter-finals
- Harry Kane will move level with Geoff Hurst (4) for knockout-stage goals for England at the World Cup if he scores, with only Gary Lineker (6) netting more
- The European golden shoe winner scored three during the group stage to become England’s record scorer at the men’s World Cup
- Elliot Anderson leads all England players for line-breaking passes (30), possession won (20) and duels won (24) at this World Cup, with Ecuador’s Pedro Vite the only other player to achieve at least 20 in each of those categories in the group stage
- DR Congo ranked 38th for possession average (38.5%) in the group stage. England were third, on 65.3%
- Yoane Wissa has scored three of DR Congo’s four goals in the competition, matching his tally across the entire 2025/26 season with Newcastle
- Wissa averaged a goal every 301 minutes for the Magpies but has one every 90 minutes at the World Cup
- The 29-year-old has averaged an expected goals (xG) tally of 0.21 for each of his nine attempts at the 2026 finals, with a total xG of 1.87
- This is the 11th time an African team has faced a former winner in a World Cup knockout match, with Morocco the only one to have advanced when they beat Spain on penalties in the last 16 in 2022
World Cup 2026: England v DR Congo prediction
England haven’t been great so far but they qualified with few alarms and will now look to go through the gears.
Tuchel’s squad selection still looks baffling but they ought to have too much for DR Congo.
Prediction: England 2-0 DR Congo
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