England's Round of 32 match against DR Congo at the 2026 World Cup was staged in Atlanta, and it was supposed to be a comfortable afternoon. It was not. DR Congo's #9 put the ball in the net in the 6th minute, and just like that, the traveling England supporters who'd made the trip to Georgia were staring at a 0-1 deficit against a team nobody expected to trouble them.
Congo's opener — the goal that immediately made this match a lot more interesting than advertised.
England barely held on through the first half, with Aaron Wan-Bissaka making frantic defensive plays to keep it from getting worse. The Three Lions were getting outworked in their own World Cup knockout game. Then Harry Kane, because of course it was Harry Kane, pulled it level in the 74th minute. And then, in the 85th minute, England found a go-ahead goal to put the match away at 2-1. Dramatic, ugly, and ultimately successful — which is basically the England national team's entire brand.
Big Cat's unfiltered reaction to England's late winner — the moment the match turned from a potential disaster into a round-of-16 ticket.
After the final whistle, England's players lined up arm-in-arm on the pitch facing their supporters — who were packed into one end of the stadium waving St. George's Cross flags and belting out Wonderwall. The whole Oasis sing-along, squad and fans together. It's one of those scenes that looks completely unhinged if you don't follow England soccer and completely normal if you do. High emotion, maximum Britishness.
But the real story came after that. The England supporters, apparently not ready to let the day end, showed up that same night at Truist Park for the Atlanta Braves game. And they didn't just sit there politely learning baseball. They started chanting Michael Harris's name. And Michael Harris — Braves outfielder, #23 — immediately went and caught a fly ball. Instant manifestation. The England fans declared it a win.
The crossover moment: England supporters chanting for Michael Harris at Truist Park, and Harris delivering on cue.
This is exactly the kind of unscripted content the World Cup being in the US was always going to produce. A bunch of traveling soccer fans, still riding the adrenaline from a comeback knockout win, wandering into a Major League Baseball game and just vibing. They've got the chants. They've got the energy. Turns out it works on outfielders too.