England vs DR Congo: What Last Man Standing players need to know about today's Round of 32 clash

England are in the Round of 32. So are DR Congo. For most LMS players, England is the obvious pick here — but after Germany and the Netherlands went out on the same night, "obvious" carries a bit more weight than usual.

Here's what's worth knowing.

The match

England came through a competitive Group L without much drama. They're organised, they have Kane at the top of the pitch — now the all-time top scorer for England at World Cups with 11 goals — and they've shown enough to suggest they're built for the knockout rounds rather than just the group stage.

DR Congo, meanwhile, have been the story of this World Cup. They're disciplined and they have a focal point in Yoane Wissa, who has accounted for three of their four goals at the tournament. They're not here by accident.

For LMS players

England are the heavy favourite and the popular pick. Which means this match has the exact profile of the ones that clean out pools.

That's not a recommendation to not pick England. It's a recommendation to think about what happens to your pool if Wissa scores and Congo hold on. At a World Cup that has already produced Paraguay beating Germany on pens and Morocco knocking out Netherlands on the same night, the idea of DR Congo nicking this one isn't fantasy.

What you're weighing here: England are probably the better team. But "probably" is doing a lot of work in a single-elimination format, and "probably" doesn't save you if Congo win and half your pool goes out.

If England are a very heavy majority pick in your pool, there's an argument for looking at Belgium vs Senegal or USMNT vs Bosnia as alternative picks — matches with a similarly clear favourite but less pool concentration.

DR Congo's threat

Wissa makes them dangerous. He's quick, he makes runs in behind, and if England's defensive line gets it wrong even once, he'll punish it. Congo also defended impressively to qualify from the group stage — this is not a team that's going to roll over.

England have the quality to win this comfortably. They probably will. But "probably" and "comfortably" have looked very precarious at this World Cup.

The broader picture

With three matches today — England vs Congo, Belgium vs Senegal, USMNT vs Bosnia — there are options. If your pool allows you to pick any match from the day, don't just default to England because it feels safe. Look at the whole day's fixtures and pick the one where the favourite is most likely to win and where you're not picking the same way as everyone else.

LMS survival isn't just about picking the winning team. It's about picking the right match to stake your survival on.

If you're running a Last Man Standing pool or a predictor game for the World Cup, Matchroom handles picks and results automatically — free at getmatchroom.app.