England face DR Congo on Wednesday at the World Cup – and there will likely be plenty of Everton eyes on the game.
The Three Lions reached the Round of 32 after topping their group with two wins and a draw.
Which Everton player are you expecting to have the best World Cup? 🏆
Thomas Tuchel’s side were superb against Croatia in the first game, but struggled against Ghana and then Panama for much of the game.
But topping the group was the objective, and that’s what they did.
It’s DR Congo up next for England after they went through as one of the best third-placed teams.
It could be a tricky game, but it’s also one that Everton scouts are likely to be watching carefully.
Everton get to watch Aaron Wan-Bissaka vs Djed Spence
Of course, Everton are currently looking to strengthen their squad ahead of the 2026/27 season.
And one of the priority positions is right-back, with Seamus Coleman leaving, Nathan Patterson likely to be sold and Jake O’Brien set to move inside to play at centre-back.
On Wednesday, Everton will actually get to see two transfer targets take to the field in the same game when England take on DR Congo.
It’s thought Aaron Wan-Bissaka is on Everton’s radar after West Ham got relegated, and he will surely start on the right side of DR Congo’s defence.
And then there’s Djed Spence, who got linked with Everton last week.
Tino Livramento has left England’s camp with an injury, and Reece James is also currently sidelined. In the last game against Panama, Jarell Quansah hobbled off and is now a new injury doubt. So Spence looks all set to start at right-back.
Potentially, whoever has the better game could inform Everton’s decision of who to push for.
How Spence and Wan-Bissaka compared in 2025/26
Spence vs Wan-Bissaka makes for interesting reading, and they pretty much spent the same amount of time on the pitch last season in the Premier League.
But it was Wan-Bissaka who came out on top on several metrics such as crossing accuracy, take-on success and chances created (as per Squawka).
Spence did play a lot of his games at left-back, which is not his natural side. However, that is a position he certainly has plenty of experience in.
| Spence | Wan-Bissaka |
| Minutes played – 2056 | Minutes played – 2084 |
| Chances created – 10 | Chances created – 18 |
| Crossing accuracy – 19.6% | Crossing accuracy – 31.8% |
| Passing accuracy – 80.8% | Passing accuracy – 76.7% |
| Take-on success – 43.8% | Take-on success – 48.4% |
| Ground duel success – 47.5% | Ground duel success – 51.2% |
It will be very interesting to see which player fares better on Wednesday.
Wan-Bissaka will likely come up against Marcus Rashford, while Spence could face either Brian Cipenga or Arthur Masuaku as a wing-back.
They have two fairly different styles, and perhaps it will be good to see both at the same time.
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