World Cup 2026: Can water cut help England into knockouts?

Before the first watering down, England’s statistics – as well as their performance – were poor.

They had zero tackles and touches in the box before the break, but improved by eight tackles and 20 touches at half-time.

It was a similar story in the second half, with a lack of hydration seemingly turning the tables on England.

They had two shots and seven shots in the box before the three-minute break, but six shots and 13 shots later, Kane scored the two crucial goals.

During both wet breaks, Tuchel was animated as he gathered the team around him and gave instructions, the players nodding in agreement with what was being said.

“I’ll use it more than that,” Tuchel said. “You know I really don’t like them.

“I enjoy football more when it’s played at a faster pace and players and teams have to get into that kind of momentum. It’s a free-flowing game that breaks more than I thought it would.

But they are here, why not try and use them? I felt it was easy to talk to the players today, they were very calm, very welcoming.

“Sometimes a water outage can be a bit chaotic, everyone is trying to encourage, everyone has a message, everyone is trying to help.

“I felt they were very calm and focused in key moments.”

After the second wet break, England pushed more players forward, gaining more space on the flanks and playing with a rush as DR Congo looked tired.

“Sometimes it can change the pace and give you a bit of time to breathe,” forward Iberechi Eze added.

“Obviously we were the better side this time, but that’s part of the game.”