England's "African Curse" – They've Never Lost to an African Team in the World Cup, Can This Streak Continue?

Brothers, here's a stat for England fans to feel good about – England has never lost to an African team in World Cup history.

England's record against African teams in the World Cup is 5 wins and 4 draws. In knockout matches, they beat Cameroon 3-2 in the 1990 World Cup quarterfinals and Senegal 3-0 in the Round of 16 in the last World Cup. Although they lost 1-3 to Senegal in a friendly last year, that wasn't a World Cup match. England's overall record against African teams is 15 wins, 7 draws, and 1 loss.

England and Congo have never faced each other at the national team level. This Round of 32 match will be the first official meeting between the two teams. No historical baggage, no mental scars – this is actually a good thing for England. They don't need to break any curse; they just need to play their normal game.

But brothers, while the historical stats look good, they don't guarantee a win in this match. In the group stage against Ghana, England had 78.9% possession but couldn't score. Facing an African team's defensive wall, England's attack often falls into the trap of "controlling the ball to death." Congo's defense is even stronger than Ghana's – in the group stage against Portugal and Colombia, two strong teams, they only conceded 2 goals.

Historical records are meant to be extended. England's unbeaten streak against African teams will likely continue in this match. But it won't be easy – Congo isn't here to be a pushover.

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