In a game played at Atlanta Stadium, the Three Lions came from behind to beat the Leopards with two late Harry Kane goals and reach the Round of 16 for the third successive edition.
Brian Cipenga opened the scoring for Senegal with a superb effort and it took England until the 75th minute to go level. Kane equalised from a header before blasting a brilliant winner in a dramatic turnaround.
‘D.R Congo believed we could do it’
“We’re disappointed because we really believed we could do it,” a disappointed Desabre told FIFA.com.
“We played well. Towards the end of the match, we conceded two chances and one of the world’s best players scored two goals against us. It’s a shame.”
Desabre added: “We must congratulate the players on their performance. They’ve gained a lot of experience from playing against teams like this.
“That’s how football in the Congo DR is built: we may have lacked a little experience, but that’s the nature of the game. We’re learning, and we’re continuing to improve. We’ll carry on, calmly.”
D.R Congo midfielder Axel Tuanzebe echoed Desabre’s sentiments by admitting they should have killed off the game in the first half when they created many scoring opportunities.
“Ultimately we’re kicking ourselves more so because we felt we should’ve definitely held out the game,” said Tuanzebe.
“Probably should’ve finished it in the first half as well but it was unfortunate it was not meant to be for us today but we'll look on this and think how we can build for future tournaments.
“I think we’ll definitely learn from this and continue attacking the game, especially early on, because having to defend wave after wave of attack against this calibre of players, they will prevail, and they did so today.”
FIFA World Cup 2026
The 2026 World Cup is taking place from June 11th to July 19th in the United States, Canada and Mexico. The tournament features 48 national teams and is played at 16 modern stadiums.
Match schedule and times | Group tables | How to watch the World Cup | World Cup Format | Past winners of the World Cup
Mpasi was incredible
England manager Thomas Tuchel praised D.R Congo goalkeeper Lionel Mpasa for having an incredible game.
“Well deserved, but we had to work a lot. We have to have that mindset if it's getting hard, it's getting hard, but don't lose patience and don't lose belief,” said Tuchel.
“The guy (goalkeeper Mpasi) was incredible the kind of saves he was making.”
Tuchel added: “We kept believing. We had the worst start possible. First shot, first goal. Then, it became even more difficult.
“After the first water break, we were on top of the game ... The substitutes came on, and put the effort in, and we won it.”
Kane labelled Senegal a tough team. He said: “It feels amazing to be honest. What a crazy game. They are a tough team and then after that first break, we were much better and their keeper made some unbelievable saves.
“We spoke about people having hero moments and it can be anyone. It was me today. We spoke all week about just being ourselves.
“There are still things to work on for sure and these rounds are just about getting through. We are in the part of the tournament when you have to grind wins out, and that's what we have done today.”
After ending a 52-year wait, the Leopards returned to the global stage for the World Cup by securing a spot through the Inter Confederation Playoffs.
Drawn into Group K alongside Colombia, Uzbekistan, and Portugal, D.R Congo rewrote their tournament history.
They secured their first-ever World Cup win and their first points in tournament history.
Thanks to this strong group-stage performance, they advanced to the knockout stage (Round of 32) for the first time.
