England’s “remontada” against Congo repeats the Cameroon 1990 scenario

The stunning return of the England national team against its counterpart, the Democratic Republic of Congo, in the round of 32 of the 2026 World Cup, confirmed the continuation of the historical superiority of English football over African teams in the largest global forum, after the “Three Lions” team succeeded in overturning a deficit to win by two goals to one, thanks to the double of captain Harry Kane, who stole the show in the second half and led his team to the round of 16 to face the Mexican national team in the scheduled match, at 4 am UAE time, next Monday.

The match against Congo was an extension of previous scenarios associated with the England national team in its confrontations against the African continent, most notably the historic confrontation against Cameroon in the 1990 World Cup quarter-finals, when the “Lions” led 2-1 before the England national team prevailed and turned the tables on its opponent with a 3-2 victory.

Returning to the historical archive of England’s confrontations with African teams in the World Cup, it is clear that this relationship bears a constant competitive nature that extends over several decades, as no African team has succeeded in achieving victory over England in the history of the tournament so far, while the results were divided between English victories and limited draws imposed by some teams in the group stage.

England began this series in the 1986 edition with a goalless draw against Morocco, before achieving a difficult victory over Egypt with an unanswered goal in 1990, and continued to excel in the same edition through an exciting victory over Cameroon with a score of three goals to two in the quarter-finals.

In 1998, England beat Tunisia with two unanswered goals, then came a series of draws against Nigeria in 2002 and Algeria in 2010, before victories against Tunisia in 2018 and Senegal in 2022, leading to a victory over Congo in the current 2026 edition.

In this context, the historic confrontation against Cameroon in the quarter-finals of the 1990 World Cup stands out, which constituted one of England’s most exciting matches in its World Cup history, after Cameroon advanced by two goals to one before England succeeded in returning via two decisive penalty kicks, ending the match with a score of three goals to two, in a scenario very similar to what happened against Congo more than three decades later.

Despite this superiority in the World Cup, the African teams recorded a single victory over England in a friendly match held against Senegal in 2025, which ended with a score of three goals to one in favor of the “Lions of Teranga”, in a confrontation outside the official framework of the World Cup, which makes it not included in the historical record of the World Cup, but it remains an exceptional point in the record of confrontations.