England vs DR Congo LIVE: Latest World Cup team news as Thomas Tuchel makes line-up call before last-32 clash – UK Times

France put in a scarily good performance to send Sweden packing from the World Cup last night – here’s Richard Jolly’s report from New York:

Liberte, Egalite, Mbappe. Or maybe it was Liberte, Egalite, Olise. France delivered another mission statement of a performance, another wonderful endorsement of their footballing philosophy taking them closer to a return to New York for a third consecutive World Cup final.

They are making history and making memories. The scorer par excellence and the creator nonpareil brought their artistry to the evisceration of Sweden. One day, perhaps, Graham Potter and his team may be able to cushion their disappointment with the knowledge they witnessed something special from the same pitch.

In Kylian Mbappe and Michael Olise, France have two candidates for the Golden Ball and if a certain diminutive Argentinian provides competition, this was an illustration of the contrasting strengths of Les Bleus’ devastating double act. Mbappe, with unerring brilliance, got the goals that almost seem a guarantee on such a stage, a third brace of the tournament taking him to nine in his last five World Cup matches.

This World Cup has not exactly been short of shocks.

After tiny Cape Verde held Spain in the groups to whet the appetite, two of football’s biggest names have already crashed out in the knockout stage.

The Netherlands were beaten by Morocco – maybe not an upset given how good the Atlas Lions are now – but what was DEFINITELY a shock to the system was Germany’s elimination at the hands of Paraguay.

Any complacency of the biggest hitters against smaller teams will surely be gone now – and England will hope they’re not the next to go.

The lead commentator for today’s game is Guy Mowbray, with Alan Shearer alongside him on the gantry in Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

The coverage is being helmed by Match of the Day presenter Mark Chapman, with former England players Wayne Rooney, Micah Richards and Joe Hart alongside him in the studio to provide punditry and analysis.

Darren Cann is the ex-official providing expert insight on referees, VAR and the laws of the game, and Kelly Somers is delivering interviews from the England camp and reporting pitchside.

We are just three hours away from kick-off as England sink their teeth into their first bit of World Cup knockouts action.

Think it’s time for some score predictions…

After Kylian Mbappe’s brace against Sweden saw him join Lionel Messi on six goals for the tournament so far, it appears we have our two clear frontrunners for the golden boot.

That’s not great news for Harry Kane, whose tally after the group stage is half of that – not a bad showing by any respect, but perhaps not enough.

Here are how the odds for the golden boot are stacking up, via AceOdds:

• Kylian Mbappe – 1/1
• Lionel Messi – 6/4
• Harry Kane – 16/1
• Erling Haaland – 20/1
• Ousmane Dembele – 20/1
• Vinicius Jr – 33/1

Twenty days into the World Cup and the figures are in. The main takeaway? A star-spangled soccer popularity surge is engulfing this 50-state land and, so long as the No 1 act is in town, it shows no signs of relenting.

FOX Sports, who spent $485m to acquire the American television rights for the biggest World Cup of all time, have made no secret of their lofty viewership statistics after the group phase. Even withstanding the contrived punditry from the much-maligned Alexi Lakas, the numbers across the board tell the story of a nation gripped by football in an unprecedented manner.

USA’s opening-game triumph against Paraguay, primetime on Friday night, raked in 19 million viewers, topped up to 26 million when including Spanish-language viewers on Telemundo and Peacock. For their other two group games, that total number did not drop below 23 million. For context, Donald Trump’s presidential inauguration last year drew in 24.6 million viewers across all 15 major US networks. And the New York Knicks’ NBA Finals series win, clinched the day after the US victory over Paraguay, drew in 20.6 million per game across ABC and ESPN.

England defender Tino Livramento has undergone surgery after being forced to withdraw from the World Cup squad, his club Newcastle United has confirmed.

The full-back sustained a calf injury just days before England’s opening match of the summer tournament against Croatia.

Livramento was subsequently replaced in the squad by Chelsea’s Trevoh Chalobah and returned to Newcastle for treatment.