Harry Kane produced another captain’s performance as England came from a goal down to beat DR Congo and book their place in the Round of 16 of the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

After falling behind, Thomas Tuchel’s side responded through their skipper, who struck twice to complete the turnaround.

Kane’s first goal came from a superb Anthony Gordon cross, with the England captain powering a header into the net. His second was even better. Gordon, who had replaced Marcus Rashford in the second half, slipped a pass into Kane’s path, and the striker unleashed a thunderous first time strike that gave the goalkeeper no chance.

The brace took Kane to 12 goals in FIFA World Cup finals, further cementing his place among the tournament’s greatest goalscorers.

It also marked another remarkable milestone in what has become one of the greatest individual goalscoring seasons in football history.

Kane has now scored 72 goals for club and country during the 2025 and 26 season, overtaking Cristiano Ronaldo’s best ever goalscoring campaign.

Only Lionel Messi has ever produced a better goalscoring season among football’s modern greats.

The highest scoring campaigns are now:

• Lionel Messi (2011 and 12): 82 goals in 69 games
• Harry Kane (2025 and 26): 72 goals in 62 games
• Lionel Messi (2012 and 13): 69 goals in 62 games
• Cristiano Ronaldo (2011 and 12): 69 goals in 69 games

England will now face Mexico in the Round of 16 as they continue their quest for World Cup glory. With Kane in the form of his life and rewriting the record books almost every game, the Three Lions will be confident of going even deeper into the tournament.

GN

 Just past midnight in Monterrey, Achraf Hakimi had already missed his penalty, and Morocco’s World Cup looked like it might be sliding into another so-near-yet-so-far story. Then goalkeeper Yassine Bounou flung himself to his right, Crysencio Summerville’s spot-kick was gone, and Ismael Saibari stepped up to thump in the winner.

Morocco had beaten the Netherlands on penalties. Another major European side undone from 12 yards, and across Africa and the Arab world, the same question grew louder. Can Morocco actually win the World Cup?

It is not a fanciful question anymore. No African nation has ever won the tournament, and before Morocco’s run in 2022 none had even reached the semi-finals. Yet here they are again, deep into the knockouts and refusing to play the underdog.

A shootout to remember

A quick note on the format, because 2026 is different. This is the first World Cup with 48 teams rather than 32, which adds an extra knockout round, the last 32, before the competition reaches its more familiar stages.

After finishing second in Group C behind Brazil, drawing with the Brazilians and beating Scotland and Haiti, Morocco met the Netherlands in that last-32 tie. It looked to be slipping away when Cody Gakpo put the Dutch ahead on 72 minutes. It was an emotional goal for Gakpo, who had taken to the pitch just days after he and his partner shared the news that they had lost their unborn son.

Morocco refused to fold. In the first minute of stoppage time, defender Issa Diop climbed highest to glance in an equaliser and drag the tie to extra time. Soufiane Rahimi nearly settled it there and then, only for Netherlands goalkeeper Bart Verbruggen to produce a stunning save at point-blank range.

So it went to penalties, and penalties have quietly become Morocco’s speciality. They even missed two of their own, Neil El Aynaoui clipping the bar and Hakimi failing to convert, but Bounou’s save from Summerville handed Saibari the chance to win it. He took it, 3-2. The whole thing echoed Qatar four years ago, when Morocco knocked out Spain in exactly the same nerveless fashion, with Bounou the hero then too.

How they finished fourth in Qatar

To understand why belief runs so high, you have to go back to 2022. That run remains the proudest chapter in African and Arab football history.

Under coach Walid Regragui, Morocco topped a tough group that included former finalists Croatia and a strong Belgium side. They drew 0-0 with Croatia, then beat Belgium 2-0 and Canada 2-1 to go through.

The knockouts turned them into a phenomenon. They beat Spain on penalties, then edged Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal 1-0 thanks to a towering Youssef En-Nesyri header, becoming the first African or Arab team ever to reach a World Cup semi-final. France, the defending champions, ended the dream 2-0, and Croatia won the third-place play-off 2-1. Morocco finished fourth, and back home the scenes did not look like those of a beaten team.

New coach, same belief

The twist this time is the man in charge. Regragui, the architect of the Qatar miracle, stepped down in March 2026. In his place came Mohamed Ouahbi, previously the head coach of Morocco’s under-23s and stepping into a senior role for the very first time.

The timing, just months before a World Cup, unsettled plenty of fans. The ambition, though, has not dimmed. “We have all the ingredients that we need to become the best nation,” Ouahbi told reporters after the Haiti win, pushing his players to believe in the title itself rather than settle for another respectable run.

It is the same drum Regragui banged in Qatar, when he asked simply, “Why shouldn’t we dream of winning the World Cup?”

The players carrying the dream

Every great run needs a talisman, and Morocco’s is Hakimi. The captain plays his club football for Paris Saint-Germain, with whom he won the Champions League last season, and he is widely rated among the best right-backs on the planet. “I think we are capable of doing it,” he told the talk show ABtalks before the Netherlands game, adding that an African winner would send the country “crazy with joy.”

He is far from alone. Brahim Díaz, a gifted playmaker at Real Madrid who switched his international allegiance from Spain to Morocco, supplies much of the creativity. Saibari, a midfielder in superb form, arrived at the tournament with three group-stage goals and then buried the winning penalty. And in Bounou, Morocco have the shootout specialist that opponents have learned to dread.

A deeper bench this time

Perhaps the most important difference from 2022 is what sits on the bench. Tournaments are long and gruelling, and squads win them as much as starting elevens do.

Where Regragui leaned on a settled core, Ouahbi can summon genuine game-changers. Against the Netherlands it was the substitutes who turned the tie. Rahimi almost won it in extra time, and Chemsdine Talbi coolly scored his penalty in the shootout. Younger midfielders such as Ayyoub Bouaddi and El Aynaoui give the team fresh legs in the closing stages, something Morocco simply did not have last time.

Hakimi puts the team spirit down to something less tactical. “We have fun, dance, laugh, play cards,” he said, describing a dressing room he calls one big family.

Next match

The reward for beating the Dutch is a last-16 meeting with co-hosts Canada in Houston on 4 July, with a place in the quarter-finals on the line. Facing one of the host nations means a partisan crowd and a little extra pressure, but it is a tie Morocco will fancy.

Beyond that, the tournament’s heavyweights start to appear. Nobody in the Moroccan camp seems remotely fazed. “We came here for a reason,” Ouahbi said. “We can play against anyone.”

After Spain, after the Netherlands, after a fourth-place finish that once looked like the ceiling, fans are now hoping history will be made.

GN

An increasingly desperate Ecuador stunned Germany 2-1 in their final Group E game on Thursday to drag their World Cup campaign out of the flames and qualify for a place in the last 32.

Needing a win — or a miracle — to keep their ​hopes alive, the South Americans suffered the worst possible start when already-qualified Germany struck in the second minute, with Leroy ‌Sane opening his account at a major international tournament in his 15th appearance at one.

Ecuador had failed to score in this tournament despite 39 previous attempts, but finally broke their duck with their 40th shot when Nilson Angulo curled the ball beyond Manuel Neuer to spark wild celebrations among the sea of yellow in ​the stands.

Gonzalo Plata then bundled home the winner with 13 minutes remaining to complete Ecuador’s stirring comeback as their fans erupted ​with joy at the sold-out New York/New Jersey stadium.

“It was incredible. We had a lot of faith and ⁠want our fans to know that there are 26 players here that will give their all for everyone in our country,” Plata told ​reporters.

“People packed the stadiums wherever we played and made us feel right at home. They deserve this far more than we do. We struggled ​a lot in the first two matches but now we’re even more determined.

“We’ve learnt that you have to give it your all right up to the last minute, even if the goal doesn’t come early on. Today we struggled right to the end and, thank goodness, it went our way.”

GERMANY’S VULNERABILITY EXPOSED AGAIN

Already assured ​of qualification as group winners, Germany finished top with six points, ahead of Ivory Coast on goal difference after the African side beat Curacao 2-0. ​Ecuador have qualified as one of the best eight third-placed teams.

Germany had been chasing a third win from three Group E matches and a 12th successive ‌victory, but ⁠their defensive vulnerabilities were exposed again and they have now conceded in all three group matches.

“We keep inviting the opposition in with turnovers, making them look good in the process,” captain Joshua Kimmich told reporters.

“Fortunately, no real harm has been done yet. But it’s clear we can’t afford another defeat. We can’t keep conceding one or two goals every game. We need to minimise our turnover rate; then we can beat ​anyone.”

Germany started explosively, with Sane finishing ​left-footed from just inside the area ⁠in the second minute after Florian Wirtz cleverly found his teammate after a quick throw-in.

Ecuador protested that Aleksandar Pavlovic had caught Pedro Vite in the head with a raised foot in the build-up, but referee ​Tori Penso allowed the goal to stand.

Ecuador, who had arrived under pressure after a defeat by Ivory ​Coast and draw ⁠with Curacao, responded swiftly. Angulo curled thee ball into the net from the edge of the box in the ninth minute, with goalkeeper Manuel Neuer slow to react.

The second half began with more controversy when Penso awarded Germany a penalty after Felix Nmecha played in Kai Havertz, who appeared to ⁠be tripped ​by Joel Ordonez.

After a VAR review, however, the referee overturned the decision for a Germany ​foul in the build-up.

Clear chances were then limited until Plata struck in the 78th minute, reacting quickest after substitute Kevin Rodriguez flicked on a corner at the near post ​and stabbing the ball past Neuer to send the stadium into uproar.

(Reuters)