The Game’s About The Ballers

If there's one clean, satisfying lesson to be taken from the World Cup action we've seen so far, it's this one: Big games tend to be decided by the big dogs.

Kylian Mbappé, Erling Haaland, Lionel Messi, Michael Olise, Harry Kane—all of these guys have been playing out of their minds since the first group-stage games, and each has taken a deserved turn as the tournament's brightest star.

Right now, minutes after England's 2-1 victory over DR Congo in the round of 32, it's Kane who reigns as the world's best and brightest.

DR Congo did everything an underdog is supposed to do in order to win a game like the one they just lost.

They met England with more tenacity than the Three Lions may have been expecting, they defended like psychopaths, they scored early, and their attacks were dangerous enough to genuinely rattle the English players.

After Brian Cipenga's opening goal in the seventh minute, DR Congo would hold onto a 1-0 lead for 68 minutes.

Each minute that passed seemed to further fray the confidence of their opponents, as did a series of tremendous saves by Congolese keeper Lionel Mpasi.