Thomas Tuchel insists ‘it takes two to tango’ as England fans warned over DR Congo

England boss Thomas Tuchel has warned supporters that they should not expect a free-flowing game against DR Congo.

In England’s last two World Cup games, they have come up against two opponents in Ghana and Panama who were happy to shut up shop at the back from the opening whistle.

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Thanks to Ghana and Panama’s reluctance to engage, reflected in England boasting 78 per cent and 68 per cent of possession in those contests respectively, it resulted in a frustrating experience as Tuchel’s side struggled to find a breakthrough.

England eventually found a way past Panama courtesy of Jude Bellingham in the 62nd minute but could not breach Ghana’s defence as the clash ended in a scoreless draw.

Across the two games, England fired off a total of 36 shots but scored just twice.

The Three Lions look almost certain to be met with similar tactics from DR Congo, who had 25 per cent of the ball against Portugal and 34 per cent against Colombia in two of their three group games.

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And even though there is a gulf in the individual quality between England’s stars and DR Congo’s, Tuchel insists it won’t instantly result in his side prising open their round of 32 rivals.

“I’m not sure if there are tactical solutions, to be honest, because I saw them play against Portugal, play against Colombia, hold them down to a bare minimum of chances,” Tuchel told talkSPORT.

“It’s maybe more taking the little moments, worship the moments, creating set pieces. When we cross with precision, how do we arrive in the box? It’s so difficult to create overloads because they’re so devoted to defending and they’re so physical.

“Once Portugal exploited, for example, the space behind the back five, they are so fast in recovery runs that they even caught up with (Nuno) Mendes on the left side, who’s so fast.

“There is not the one and the two and the three tactical solutions that bring us the advantage. But I think the mindset is important, that we are aware that it can be a difficult match, that it can be a demanding match, that we don’t over-expect from us in terms of, oh, we want to do it in style and in spectacular.

“It needs a lot of hard work, a lot of repetitive work, and it needs quality in the key moments.”

Rivals’ reluctance to engage also makes Tuchel’s task of implementing a style of play to ‘reflect the Premier League’, something he outlined at the start of his reign, all the more tricky.

In fact, Tuchel does not envisage seeing ‘the very best’ of his England troops until they next face a rival who is willing to play ball.

Tuchel: DR Congo won’t be a willing dance partner for England

“It takes two to tango,” Tuchel said.

“It’s just difficult to break down a well-organised physical team who are devoted to defending.

“So we’re facing this since two matches. This will be the third match in a row, and maybe that will only change if teams try to beat us and play on the same level of the teams like Croatia, and a top-ten team comes out and tries to implement their style on us and not just absorb our game.

“Once this happens, I think we will see the very best of us. But until then, it’s just a moment to dig in, to accept that we’re in the grind and find a way to win.”

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Should England beat Congo, a Round of 16 fixture against tournament co-hosts Mexico awaits in Mexico City thanks to their 2-0 win over Ecuador.

talkSPORT will have England supporters covered for the Congo clash at the Mercedes Benz-Stadium in Atlanta, with Adrian Durham presenting along with Jim Proudfoot and former Three Lions skipper Stuart Pearce on commentary.

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The contest is due to get underway at 5pm BST.