England will face the Democratic Republic of Congo on Wednesday as they seek a place in the last 16 of the World Cup.
Co-hosts United States will also be in action as they target what could become one of the biggest wins in their football history.
England go into their round-of-32 clash in Atlanta as favourites, but coach Thomas Tuchel has warned his players not to take DR Congo lightly.
Germany and the Netherlands have already crashed out of the tournament after losing on penalties to Paraguay and Morocco respectively.
Tuchel said those results should remind England that knockout football is decided by small details.
“I feel it is a privilege to be in these situations. I think we can just accept it, we are the favourites,” Tuchel said on Tuesday.
He added that the matches already played in the round of 32 had shown that the margins are “narrow, narrow.”
England will again look to Jude Bellingham and Harry Kane for inspiration as they continue their search for a first major trophy in 60 years.
However, defender Reece James will miss the match through injury.
DR Congo, meanwhile, will enter the game with little pressure after exceeding expectations by reaching the knockout stage.
Coach Sebastien Desabre said the pressure would be on England.
“Our World Cup is already a success relative to our goals,” he said.
“The pressure is on the England team.”
DR Congo’s squad includes several players born outside the country, with many having links to France and England.
Premier League forward Yoane Wissa is expected to be one of their key threats, while Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Axel Tuanzebe both previously represented England at youth level.
USA target historic moment
In another major fixture, the United States will face Bosnia-Herzegovina in the San Francisco Bay Area.
The match is expected to attract a huge television audience, with up to 30 million Americans projected to watch the primetime clash.
The USA are chasing their first World Cup knockout win in almost 25 years.
Midfielder Gio Reyna said the players understand the significance of the moment for football in the country.
“Everyone knows in the back of our minds what this could do for this country,” Reyna said.
“We feel the country rallying around us. We see the momentum it’s bringing to the sport in this country.”
Belgium will also face Senegal in Seattle in another tricky knockout tie.
The match could be another major test for Belgium’s ageing golden generation, including Kevin de Bruyne and Romelu Lukaku.
On Tuesday, France reached the last 16 after beating Sweden 3-0, with Kylian Mbappe scoring twice to take his tally at the tournament to six goals.
Mbappe and his teammates embraced coach Didier Deschamps after one of the goals following the recent death of his mother.
Erling Haaland also scored the decisive goal as Norway defeated Ivory Coast 2-1 to reach the last 16.
AFP
