ATLANTA — Thomas Tuchel walked into Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Tuesday with a grin he couldn’t shake. Knockout soccer does that to him. The England manager called it a privilege, that extra edge that comes with elimination games. It’s why he was hired in the first place.
But here’s the thing about edges: they cut both ways.
England’s first-ever last-32 match at a World Cup comes against the Democratic Republic of Congo, a team that looks like a softer draw on paper but plays like it has something to prove. And maybe that’s the problem. Congo already held Portugal to a 1-1 draw and beat Uzbekistan 3-1 to get here. They are not intimidated.
The Tuchel gamble meets its first real test
Tuchel was brought in because he wins knockout matches. Three trophies, multiple deep runs, a reputation for getting it right when the stakes are highest. But if England stumbles here, it won’t just be another early exit. It’ll be worse than Iceland in 2016. The context is different now. This team was built specifically for these moments.
“We prepared in the best way possible, in a completely normal way,” Tuchel said. “We don’t need to do extra stuff. We just need to be the best version of ourselves.”
That calm is deliberate. It’s also fragile.
Congo has Premier League experience scattered through its lineup. Yoane Wissa, the Newcastle forward who scored against Uzbekistan, put it plainly: “We deserve to play England. We have worked hard for this. There is war in eastern Congo. Every time we wear this shirt, we think about them.”
There’s also Aaron Wan-Bissaka, who was eligible for England. Tuchel is scrambling at right-back with Reece James and Jarrel Quansah both out. The irony isn’t lost on anyone.
A World Cup where the floor keeps rising
This tournament has already seen Paraguay knock off Germany. Japan pushed Brazil to the limit. The gap between the favorites and everybody else is shrinking, and Congo fits that trend. They defend in numbers, hit on the counter, and don’t give up many chances.
“It can be tiring. It can be nerve-racking. It can be monotonous to break this block down,” Tuchel said. “But that’s where the mindset has to be: we don’t freak out. We don’t start to doubt.”
Easier said than done when the world is watching and the margin for error is one bad pass, one set piece, one moment of hesitation.
Congo’s fans, by the way, will be in the building. The Congolese government lifted a ban on public gatherings that had been in place due to Ebola concerns, just in time for this match. That says everything about what this moment means for them.
For England, it means facing a team that has nothing to lose and everything to prove. That’s the kind of edge Tuchel says he loves. We’re about to find out if his team loves it too.
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