England v DR Congo: Predicted Three Lions XI for last 32 tie

England face DR Congo in the last 32 of the World Cup in Atlanta on Wednesday. 

Thomas Tuchel’s side started the tournament superbly, beating Croatia 4-2, but have since underwhelmed during games against Ghana and Panama.

The Three Lions did, however, pick up four points from those two games and therefore topped group L, although Tuchel’s side will likely have to show vast improvement if they are to beat DR Congo and progress to the last 16.

Here, we predict the XI that Tuchel could select for the game in Atlanta, Georgia.

Goalkeeper

Jordan Pickford was a mainstay at tournaments throughout Gareth Southgate’s tenure in charge of England and rarely, if ever, put a foot wrong for the Three Lions.

He has continued as first choice goalkeeper since Tuchel’s arrival, but the Everton man hasn’t been tested too much so far this summer, and it will be interested to see how he fares on Wednesday.

Defenders

Tuchel shocked a number of people when he selected John Stones to partner Ezri Konsa for England’s opening match against Croatia, with Marc Guehi expected to have started the match.

Guehi has since been involved in England’s two other group stage matches, but Tuchel could revert to a centre-back pairing of Konsa and Stones for this one.

On the left of defence, Nico O’Reilly looks set to get the nod, having impressed with his ability both defensively and going forward.

Right-back has become something of a problem area for England, with Tino Livramento having been sent home from the tournament due to injury, and then Reece James having missed the match against Panama. The Chelsea captain has also been ruled out of this one, meaning Djed Spence could start.

Midfielders

Declan Rice sat out England’s 2-0 win over Panama as he was nursing a minor injury, but the Arsenal man is set to return for this one and join Elliot Anderson in the middle of the park. The Nottingham Forest star looks set for a big move this summer, and was arguably England’s best player in their last game.

Bellingham is in line to start once again on Wednesday (Photo: Associated Press/Alamy)

Jude Bellingham opened the scoring against Panama before setting up Harry Kane to net England’s second, and the Real Madrid man looks set to continue in the advanced midfield role. Much was made prior to the tournament of the battle between Bellingham and Morgan Rogers for a starting spot this summer, but Bellingham has been arguably England’s standout player so far.

Forwards

Tuchel’s decision to leave both Cole Palmer and Phil Foden at home was a controversial one, and at times it has looked like a mistake. Noni Madueke and Anthony Gordon started England’s opening win over Croatia, but the latter struggled against Ghana. For the game against DR Congo, Tuchel will likely pick the experienced duo of Marcus Rashford on the left, and Arsenal star Bukayo Saka on the right.

Captain Harry Kane will once again lead the line, and hope to add to his tally of three goals so far this summer. The Bayern Munich star become England’s all-time leading scorer at World Cup tournaments when he scored against Panama, and he still has an outside chance of winning the Golden Boot if England can progress into the latter stages of the tournament.