England lose Quansah and James for DR Congo tie as Saka cleared to start

Thomas Tuchel confirmed that both Jarrell Quansah and Reece James will miss England’s World Cup round-of-16 match against DR Congo, casting a shadow over the squad’s preparations despite a 2-0 group-stage win over Panama. Quansah twisted his ankle during that victory, while James continues to be sidelined with a hamstring problem.

The news was tempered by a positive update on Bukayo Saka, whom Tuchel confirmed is expected to be fit to start should the manager choose to include the Arsenal forward in his opening lineup.

Elsewhere at the tournament, Mexico secured their place in the round of 16 with a 2-0 victory over Ecuador at the Estadio Azteca in front of a home crowd. First-half goals from Julián Quiñones and Raúl Jiménez settled the contest, though the match had been delayed by an hour after severe thunderstorms forced the suspension of pre-match warm-ups.

The build-up to kick-off was further complicated by confusion over mandatory cooling breaks. Officials initially ruled that no hydration intervals would be permitted, before reversing that decision just twenty minutes later.

Ecuador’s evening ended in further frustration when defender Piero Hincapié was shown a straight red card deep into stoppage time following a heated confrontation with Mexico’s Santiago Giménez, with the dismissal coming under strict tournament regulations.

FIFA referees’ chief Pierluigi Collina also stepped in to defend the VAR decision that disallowed Germany’s late winner against Paraguay — a call Germany head coach Julian Nagelsmann had labelled a “scandal”. Collina explained that while holding a position is permitted, deliberately moving to obstruct an opponent without attempting to play the ball is punishable. Jonathan Tah’s goal was ruled out after Waldemar Anton was judged to have intentionally impeded Paraguay goalkeeper Orlando Gill.

FIFA President Gianni Infantino, meanwhile, praised Iran for remaining unbeaten throughout their group stage despite exiting the tournament at that stage.