Atlanta. England handled the pressure and is now headed to Mexico City.

Harry Kane ensured England avoided an early exit from the inaugural 48-team World Cup by scoring two second-half goals in a 2-1 comeback victory over Congo in the Round of 32 on Wednesday.

The win — only England's second in World Cup history after conceding the opening goal — earned the 1966 champions a place in the Round of 16, where they will face co-host Mexico.

"It was just about pounding the rock, keep pounding the rock, and our moment would come," Kane said after scoring his fourth and fifth goals of the tournament. "We spoke about people having hero moments. It can be anyone in the team. Whoever it is, we have hero moments, and for me, it was the day."

England's next match will be played at the Azteca Stadium, the site of Argentina great Diego Maradona's infamous "Hand of God" goal that eliminated England in the quarterfinals of the 1986 World Cup.

Getting there did not come easily against a Congo team that nearly produced one of the biggest upsets in World Cup history.

England's only previous World Cup victory after trailing 1-0 came in the 1966 final against West Germany at Wembley Stadium.

"That's a good sign. It just shows you the level of determination, the level of belief and also the level of focus," England coach Thomas Tuchel said. "I didn't feel the weight on their shoulders, and I found that we played with exactly the right attitude and trusted our spirit.

"The goalkeeper kept making incredible saves, but this team today did not accept defeat as an outcome."

Kane made sure the early deficit did not prove costly at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, extending his record as England's leading scorer in World Cup history to 13 goals. He has a national-record 84 goals for England overall.

His first goal came in the 75th minute. Substitute Anthony Gordon curled in a cross from the left, and although Congo goalkeeper Lionel Mpasi got a hand to Kane's header, he could not keep it out of the bottom corner.

Eleven minutes later, Kane fired into the top corner to end Congo's hopes of a famous upset.

"When you get to the knockout stage, the pressure and the risks are so much higher. But from an attacking point of view, that was easily our best game of the tournament," Kane said. "Sometimes you just have to grind wins out, and we did exactly that today. I told the boys to enjoy it. We're through, and we go again in four days."

Brian Cipenga gave Congo the lead in the seventh minute after controlling a cross on the left side of the penalty area and firing a low shot past England goalkeeper Jordan Pickford at the near post.

Mpasi did his best to preserve Congo's lead. He denied Jude Bellingham three times, blocking two close-range headers before halftime and clawing away another deflected effort after the break.

Kane nearly equalized late in the first half, but Mpasi blocked a powerful effort at the near post. The goalkeeper was also involved in a collision with Kane in the penalty area. England appealed for a penalty, but referee Adham Makhadmeh waved play on.

Congo also had a chance to double its advantage when Yoane Wissa struck the post in the first half.

"We're disappointed because we really believed we could do it," Congo coach Sébastien Desabre said. "We played well. Toward the end of the match, we conceded two chances, and one of the world's best players scored two goals against us. It's a shame."

England's only major international title remains its triumph at the 1966 World Cup on home soil. But the team has come close in recent years, reaching back-to-back European Championship finals and the semifinals of the 2018 World Cup in Russia.

Tuchel was hired to end that trophy drought. As a German, his appointment was controversial given England's long-standing rivalry with Germany, meaning anything short of a deep run in this tournament would likely renew scrutiny of that decision.

Although England topped Group L with two wins and a draw, its performances have drawn mixed reviews.

And in a tournament that has already seen traditional powers Germany and the Netherlands eliminated early, there were fears England could suffer the same fate against a Congo side that had held Portugal to a 1-1 draw in the group stage.

The 46th-ranked Congo team had already made history by recording its first World Cup goal, point and victory, 52 years after its only previous appearance, when it competed as Zaire at the 1974 tournament in West Germany.