Harry Kane: England's Wonderwall

Few had seen it coming, but their bags were almost packed.

For 74 agonising minutes in Atlanta on Wednesday, England's World Cup was 
hanging by a thread. Brian Cipenga's early strike had stunned the favourites, but it was DR Congo's fearless resilience that truly threatened to script one of the biggest upsets in World Cup history.

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Between the sticks, Lionel Mpasi repelled everything thrown at him, while a wall of blue shirts defended as though they owned every blade of grass.

The Three Lions looked out of ideas. Out of rhythm. Out of spells. Walls closing in, and almost out of time. But there was someone who could save them: a certain Harry Kane who has spent the better part of a decade rescuing his country with goals.

England failed to muster a shot before the first hydration break, struggling to play through the Congolese press. Yoane Wissa struck the post, Kane saw a strong penalty appeal waved away, and coach Thomas Tuchel prowled the touchline searching for answers.

The 1966 champions had never won a World Cup match trailing at half-time. Nine previous attempts had yielded seven defeats and two draws. History, however, had reckoned without Kane.

The breakthrough finally arrived in the 75th minute. Anthony Gordon's inviting cross demanded conviction more than elegance, and Kane darted across his marker to head the ball beyond Mpasi. It was not the most spectacular goal Kane has ever scored, but it may well be one of his most important scalps.

Eleven minutes later, Gordon found his captain once more. And it happened, again.

One touch. One glance at the target. Then came the thunderbolt, crashing into the roof of the net. Mpasi did not dive; not that he had a choice. He simply watched.

Declan Rice sprinted towards the No. 9, and even Gordon seemed momentarily stunned by what Kane had just produced.

It wasn’t struck in hope. It was struck in certainty. Kane had grown tired of watching his team flirt with disaster.

Later, he described the comeback as "one of my favourites in an England shirt", calling the dramatic victory "a magical, magical feeling".

The rescue act came with history attached. Kane’s brace took him to 13 World Cup goals, moving him beyond Pele and level with Just Fontaine on the competition's all-time scoring list. It also lifted him to five goals in this tournament, just one behind joint-leaders Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe in the race for the Golden Boot.

More remarkably, he has now scored 10 goals across his last 11 knockout matches at major tournaments since Euro 2020 -- three more than any other European player in that span.

Kane has never been the quickest. Nor has he ever been the flashiest. Yet whenever England begin to wobble, whenever belief starts to drain from the stands and panic creeps onto the pitch, everyone seems to look in the same direction. Every England generation has searched for someone to carry them through nights like these.

Tuchel could only marvel afterwards. "Harry is our leader. He decides football matches," said the German.

Anthony Gordon perhaps explained it best. "He never, ever misses a beat," the winger said. "It's no accident. It's consistency every day."

The 32-year-old has turned into England's Wonderwall -- not simply down to thousands of England supporters singing the Oasis anthem long after the final whistle. But because when the road becomes winding, when the lights seem blinding, and when the way forward disappears from view, Kane somehow finds it.

Against Congo, England came within 16 minutes of boarding the flight home, but by the final whistle, arms were draped over shoulders, thousands of voices had become one, and Atlanta echoed with Oasis.

The bags can wait.

After all, England still have their Wonderwall.