England narrowly avoided a disastrous defeat to the Democratic Republic of the Congo in the World Cup Round of 32.
The Three Lions were huge favourites to advance to the last 16, but they found it more difficult than many expected.
Brian Cipenga scored for DR Congo in the seventh minute, beating Jordan Pickford at his near post.
England then spent the remainder of the game trying to break down the Congolese defence before Harry Kane’s equaliser.
Kane scored another in the 86th minute to win the game, but he was probably unlucky not to have scored a hat-trick.
The Bayern Munich striker thought he should have been awarded a penalty after being brought down by the DR Congo goalkeeper.
Former England goalkeeper Joe Hart could not believe the referee’s decision, as he did not even conduct a VAR review.
Joe Hart believes Harry Kane should have won England a penalty against DR Congo
DR Congo goalkeeper Lionel Mpasi rushed out and made contact with Harry Kane’s feet inside the penalty area in the first half.
Kane was adamant that the referee should have pointed to the spot, but he was not interested in awarding a penalty.
Ex-Manchester City and England star Joe Hart discussed the incident from his experience as a goalkeeper at the highest level.
He admitted that he would have expected to concede a penalty if he had made that challenge in his playing career.
“As a goalkeeper, as soon as I miss that ball and feel Kane’s contact, I’m getting ready,” Hart told BBC Sport.
“If it’s on my water bottle, I am working out where Kane’s next penalty is going to be.
“Mpasi will be delighted when he looks up and sees the referee not giving it, because I would expect that to be given against me.”
However, England’s second-greatest goalscorer, Wayne Rooney, was not as convinced about the penalty decision.
Rooney suggested that Kane “dived” into Mpasi rather than being brought down by the goalkeeper’s challenge.
He explained: “I’m all for the forwards, but I think Harry Kane trips himself a bit and jumps into the goalkeeper a little bit…
“I think it looks like he has dived into him, so it probably isn’t a penalty.”
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