Round of 32 match up 

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England topped their World Cup group, but didn’t set the world alight. A very positive opening display in a 4-2 win against Croatia was followed up by a drab 0-0 draw with Ghana and a lacklustre 2-0 win against Panama. Nevertheless, they got the job done and were rewarded with a round of 32 tie against the Democratic Republic of the Congo, who will be playing in the knockout stages of the tournament for the very first time. The nations only other tournament came when they were competing as Zaire in 1974, in which they lost all three group games and conceded 14 goals without reply.

England will be overwhelming favourites to progress to the round of 16 where they would play either Mexico or Ecuador at the Estadio Azteca in Mexico City. However, no World Cup game is easy, and in the group stages DR Congo proved they are no pushovers. They drew 1-1 with Portugal, lost narrowly 1-0 to Colombia before beating Uzbekistan 3-1. Here at Transfermarkt, we have picked out five DR Congo stars that England will need to keep an eye on this Wednesday.

Five DR Congo players England will need to keep an eye on

Firstly, we cannot look past DR Congo’s talisman – Yoane Wissa. Premier League fans will be very familiar with his game, but after an extremely disappointing first campaign at Newcastle – where he was blighted by injuries after his transfer from Brentford – the 29 year old is showing signs of being back to his best for his nation this summer. He scored a well taken header against Portugal and a brace in the all-important win against Uzbekistan. He will have played against England’s centre-backs before and his ability to find space in tight areas and sniff out danger should not be underestimated by the Three Lions.

The trust that DR Congo’s coach Sébastien Desabre continues to put in Chancel Mbemba is quite touching. At club level, he went from being vice captain at Marseille in the 2023/24 season, to completely blacklisted in 2024/25 (not a second of playing time). He joined Lille last summer, but he didn’t manage to achieve a very complete season, often kept on the bench. But for his national team, for which he debuted 14 years ago, he’s a key asset, even when he can’t play at club level. As captain, he was key in DR Congo’s qualification and his experience and leadership will be crucial once again if his nation are to cause England problems.

Premier League followers will also know a lot about Aaron Wan-Bissaka and in yesteryear may have expected him to being wearing the colours of England instead. The full-back played for the Three Lions at U20 and U21 level, but after years of being frozen out, switched his international allegiance to DR Congo in 2025 and has since represented them at both the African Cup of Nations and now the World Cup. Whilst he can be slightly limited going forward, not many full-backs are better at one-on-one defending, meaning it could be a tough game for either Anthony Gordon or Marcus Rashford.

Noah Sadiki was one of a number of summer signings for newly-promoted Sunderland last summer, but few stood out more than the young central midfielder. The 21-year-old’s energetic displays in the middle of the park were key to the Black Cats hugely successful season in which they clinched European football. Having not started the opening two matches for DR Congo, in which they failed to win, he came in for the final group game against Uzbekistan and made a huge difference. Surely he will start again against England this Wednesday. He is the most valuable player in their squad at €35 million.

Samuel Moutoussamy has been a constant at the heart of DR Congo’s midfield so far this tournament, starting all three games and missing just 26 minutes of the action. The 29 year old, who plays for Greek Super League side, Atromitos, has struggled at times with the pace of the tournament, but his experience is viewed as crucial by manager Desabre. He has 61 caps under his belt. In an interview n 2022, he said: “I know that it’s behind the scenes that I’m most useful to the team. That’s where my strengths lie – in helping my team-mates to shine.” He’s relentless in his efforts in midfield, as he was in the draw against Portugal, in which he was the player with the most distance covered.