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  "path": "/2026/07/02/jamie-carragher-makes-bleak-england-prediction-dr-congo-win-29010702/",
  "publishedAt": "2026-07-02T08:15:31.000Z",
  "site": "https://metro.co.uk",
  "tags": [
    "Football",
    "Sport",
    "England men's football team",
    "Harry Kane",
    "Jamie Carragher",
    "Thomas Tuchel",
    "World Cup",
    "Anthony Gordon",
    "Bukayo Saka",
    "Marcus Rashford",
    "Noni Madueke",
    "Sign up now",
    "Kane delivered again when his country needed him most",
    "Tuchel’s men held firm to secure their place in the last 16",
    "they will do battle with co-hosts Mexico at the Azteca on Monday",
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    "The Telegraph",
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  "textContent": "Harry Kane ‘saved’ England boss Thomas Tuchel from World Cup humiliation, says Jamie Carragher (Picture: Getty)\n\nJamie Carragher says he cannot bring himself to dream of England lifting the World Cup and the Three Lions’ chances of ending their 60-year wait for the prestigious trophy are ‘remote’.\n\nEngland had looked on the brink of an embarrassing exit at the round of 32 stage, with DR Congo holding a one-goal lead after Brian Cipenga’s seventh-minute opener in Atlanta on Wednesday.\n\nHarry Kane and Co looked disjointed and lacking in ideas going forward, that is until Thomas Tuchel made a double change on the hour-mark as Anthony Gordon and Bukayo Saka replaced the ineffective Marcus Rashford and Noni Madueke.\n\nFifteen minutes on and it was Gordon who provided the assist for Kane’s towering header to make it all square, setting up a tense finish at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.\n\n##  Don't miss a World Cup moment\n\nEngland's hero (Picture:Getty)\n\nWhat a rollercoaster this has been. Make sense of the drama with **Metro's** free daily newsletter, featuring England updates, match previews and exclusive analysis. Sign up now.\n\nAnd with extra-time beckoning, Kane delivered again when his country needed him most, working himself space on the edge of the box before unleashing an unstoppable effort into the roof of the impressive Lionel Mpasi’s net.\n\nThere were rapturous scenes amongst England’s travelling support as Tuchel’s men held firm to secure their place in the last 16, where they will do battle with co-hosts Mexico at the Azteca on Monday.\n\nWhile a potential quarter-final contest versus one of Brazil or Norway awaits England after that, Carragher is refusing to look too far ahead given the side’s mixed performances up to this point.\n\nKane dragged England over the line in Atlanta (Picture: Getty)\n\nThe Three Lions lock horns with Mexico for a spot in the quarter-finals (Picture: Getty)\n\n‘After scraping into the round of 16, we must be realistic and accept that our chances of winning the World Cup are remote,’ the ex-England and Liverpool defender wrote in his column for The Telegraph.\n\n‘With Kane in such form, there is still the slimmest hope. Without him, we would be flying home already.\n\n‘Based on the past 12 months, Kane should win the Ballon d’Or. Unfortunately, he probably won’t because in a World Cup year it is bound to go to the star player of the winning nation.\n\nTo view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tvideo\n\nUp Next\n\nPrevious Page\n\nNext Page\n\n‘Much as I want to believe England can still win it, there is nothing to support that opinion, especially after recent performances.\n\n‘If Argentina retain the cup, Messi will win the Ballon d’Or. If France win the competition, one of their key men will get it.\n\n‘Kane’s Bayern team-mate Michael Olise is a strong contender, and even though by Kylian Mbappé’s standards he has had a frustrating year with his club, that will be forgotten when judged against his fantastic World Cup displays.’\n\nCipenga stunned England to open the scoring in only the seventh minute (Picture: Getty)\n\nUltimately, Carragher believes Tuchel was ‘saved’ from humiliation by one of the ‘true greats’ in Kane.\n\n‘Whatever happens to England from here, Thomas Tuchel is one of the best managers of his generation,’ he added.\n\n‘And yet there he was, 15 minutes from ignominy.\n\n‘One of the true greats saved him, because that’s what World Cups are about – the most gifted coming up with these majestic moments.’\n\nTo view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tvideo\n\nUp Next\n\nPrevious Page\n\nNext Page\n\nAccording to Carragher, Kane has now proven beyond doubt that he is England’s greatest ever centre-forward having surpassed the likes of Alan Shearer, Gary Lineker and Wayne Rooney.\n\n‘Nothing stirs my blood in football more than a brilliant player with the strongest character and mentality, defying expectations,’ he went on.\n\n‘This is why I have loved watching Kane as much in the second half of his career, when he has been forced to reinvent himself playing deeper, as when he was a more traditional number nine.\n\nKane now sits joint-sixth in the highest goalscorers list at World Cups (Picture: Getty)\n\n‘A few years ago the question was asked as to where Kane stood in the list of great England strikers, alongside Alan Shearer, Gary Lineker and Wayne Rooney. He has blown those arguments away.\n\n‘His double on Wednesday reaffirmed that he could still deliver when his country most needs it, rather than slowing down like most strikers in their 30s.’\n\nAfter Kane’s second-half heroics in Atlanta, Tuchel likened Kane and the striker’s Golden Boot rivals ‘sharks’ sniffing out ‘blood’ in the opposition.\n\nPOLL\n\nPoll\n\n### Can England realistically win this year's World Cup?\n\n  * YesCheck\n\n  * NoCheck\n\n\n\n\n‘They’re all sharks. If they smell blood, they come and score,’ the German explained.\n\nOn England’s performance as a whole, Tuchel said: ‘Things stayed ­difficult but this team did not accept a defeat.\n\n‘It makes me very proud because they did what was necessary. They showed up and we got a deserved win, even if it was a late one.’\n\nThe former Chelsea and Paris Saint-Germain boss went on: ‘It just shows you the level of determination and the level of belief and also the level of focus.\n\n‘And it fits into my narrative that I didn’t feel the weight on their shoulders.\n\n‘We played with exactly the right attitude and we trusted our spirit.’\n\n**For more stories like this, check our sport page**.\n\n**Follow Metro Sport for the latest news on**Facebook,** Twitter and Instagram**.\n\nComment now Comments \nAdd Metro as a Preferred Source on Google\nAdd as preferred source\n",
  "title": "Jamie Carragher makes bleak England prediction after DR Congo win"
}