England’s chances of winning the World Cup have decreased with the supercomputer despite sealing progression to the round of 16.
Many England fans thought they were staring down the barrel of another early World Cup exit as DR Congo took an early lead during their Wednesday clash.
It took captain Harry Kane to turn up and deliver the goods with a late brace to seal the Three Lions’ progression from the new round of 32.
Kane is now joint-sixth with Just Fontaine in the World Cup all-time top scorers list, and has the chance to move up the standings over the next two weeks.
England will face co-hosts Mexico at the Estadio Azteca in the round of 16 next Monday, with kick-off set for 1am.
They must be prepared for a tough test, with Mexico having lost just two of 89 competitive games played in their home stadium up to now.
Brazil will likely follow in the quarter-final if England beat the co-hosts, and their chances of winning the tournament look to be decreasing as a result of a poor round of 32 showing.
Opta release updated World Cup predictions after England vs DR Congo
Five of the eight round of 16 ties have already been confirmed, with Paraguay vs France and Brazil vs Norway being the current picks of the bunch.
Both Germany and the Netherlands have already crashed out in the round of 32, but England do not look any more likely to lift the World Cup trophy.
They are being backed to progress past Mexico by Opta’s supercomputer, with a 39.7 per cent chance of victory to the hosts’ 31.4.
England’s chances of winning the tournament have actually decreased since their victory, however, with Opta now giving them a 8.39 per cent chance, down from 9.32.
The likelihood of France lifting silverware have shot up from 22.47 per cent to 29.56 per cent, as they face Paraguay and then potentially one of Canada or Morocco in the quarters.
Keith Hackett offers verdict on Harry Kane penalty shout vs DR Congo
England felt they should have had a spot kick in the first half against DR Congo as captain Kane went down under a challenge from goalkeeper Lionel Mpasi.
Nothing was given as the referee pointed the other way for a dive, but former FIFA official Hackett has insisted that the Three Lions deserved a spot-kick.
Speaking exclusively to Football Insider, he said: “”This was a foul by the goalkeeper, who made no attempt to play the ball. England should have had a penalty kick. A poor piece of officiating.
“It is a simple and easy decision for the referee to make. Kane was fouled by the goalkeeper, and therefore, it is a penalty kick. Players and fans will be disappointed by this decision, which was a clear and obvious error.
“This needed to be reviewed, this needed the referee to have a look, so he can see what we have seen.”
