England forced to play extra game at World Cup after FIFA decision

 England will be forced to play a round of 32 fixture at the World Cup for the first time ever thanks to FIFA's expansion to 48 national teams. The Three Lions are set to face DR Congo in the next round as they aim to go all the way to the final across the Atlantic.

In previous World Cups, England would have headed straight to the round of 16 after topping Group L. However, FIFA decided to increase the number of teams from 32 to 48 to allow more national sides to compete.

This created another knockout bracket on the road to the final for every team that made it past the group stage. It also created more drama with the eight best third-placed teams also reaching the round of 32.

The group stages were wrapped up in dramatic fashion overnight when Austria and Algeria played out a 3-3 draw, with both sides scoring in added time. Algeria took the lead in the 93rd minute, which would've seen them enter the round of 32 alongside Iran - and Austria heading out in heartbreaking fashion.

However, Sasa Kalajdzic found the net in the 96th minute to equalise, sending both teams through to the next round. England topped their group with a 2-0 win over Panama on Saturday night but this wasn't without some issues.

The Three Lions spent the first hour struggling to break down a resolute Panama defence before Jude Bellingham eventually broke the deadlock. He then put in a pinpoint cross for Harry Kane to score and become England's record World Cup goalscorer.

Thomas Tuchel will have been pleased with the final group stage win but he has also been handed a new defensive worry. Jarell Quansah was forced off in the second half just after Bellingham's goal, as he was deputising at right-back for the injured Reece James.

Djed Spence came on and played out the rest of the game but the England boss will need to assess his full-back options ahead of their clash with DR Congo. Speaking post-match, Tuchel praised his team's journey so far as he said: "We wanted to win the group.

"There is no substitute for wins and we have that feeling again. Three days to prepare the match in Atlanta. The tournament starts new again. We had the first chapter in prep camp, then a second chapter in the group and the third chapter is coming."

Discussing the potential vulnerability of his defence, Tuchel added: "We were a bit over-excited and over-enthusiastic to score a third and committed like full-backs and everyone up front. We ended up a bit stretched, which was not necessary.

"We opted for a brave approach; the boys want to play this style. It was the moment to do it and impose ourselves and play a high press. The game management when we were 2-0 up could have been better. I'm quite happy with a lot of details I saw, it's good stuff to build on."