Anthony Gordon created history after coming on from the bench and assisting both of Harry Kane’s goals as England beat the Democratic Republic of Congo 2-1 at the Atlanta Stadium on Wednesday (July 1) to seal their place in the Round of 16 of the 2026 FIFA World Cup. The 1966 World Champions survived a scare as they came from a goal behind to secure victory.
Gordon came on in the 61st minute while England were 1–0 down as Thomas Tuchel made a double change by completely changing his wing pairing. Barcelona’s new signing came on alongside Bukayo Saka, Marcus Rashford and Noni Madueke.
Anthony Gordon Creates History
Gordon made an instant impact as his cross in the 75th minute found Kane, who headed in the equaliser. Later, he passed the ball to the English captain in the 86th minute as he found the back of the net with a superb finish from a tough angle.
As per MisterChip, Gordon set a world record with an unprecedented feat. He became the first player in the history of the FIFA World Cup to assist two goals from the bench in a FIFA World Cup knockout game.
Meanwhile OPTA also revealed that Gordon is the first English player to contribute multiple goals from the bench in a FIFA World Cup game (group stage or knockout match) since data is recorded (1966).
Gordon is also only the second English player after Bobby Moore in the final of their victorious campaign in 1966 against West Germany to assist the same teammate twice in a World Cup match. Moore had assisted two of Geoffe Hurst’s three goals in the summit clash.
Today’s victory also marked the first time since the 1966 final that England won a knockout game in the FIFA World Cup’s history after going 1–0 down.
Apart from the win over Congo in 2026 and the 1966 final, a win over Colombia in 1990 is the only instance of England winning a knockout game despite being behind. The Englishmen were 1-2 down but sealed a 3-2 in the quarter-final.
