Captain Harry Kane scored twice to land a 2-1 Round of 32 win over DR Congo as Thomas Tuchel's team continue to struggle for momentum at the tournament.
Injuries at right-back have thrown Djed Spence into the spotlight, with Reece James and Jarell Quansah out injured, and Tuchel could be forced to press Declan Rice into emergency cover against Javier Aguirre's side.
Kane again produced the goods for England, to move onto five goals in the Golden Boot race, and 12 overall for the 31-year-old on the World Cup stage.
That reliance on Kane and Jude Bellingham's bursts from midfield have been a feature of England's play under Tuchel - and his predecessor Gareth Southgate - but ex-England captain Alan Shearer is concerned the strategy is causing an issue.
"What we've learnt from England so far at this World Cup is that their two most important players by far are Bellingham and Kane.
"That was the case against DR Congo and Bellingham was really unlucky not to score, as their goalkeeper made a few brilliant saves.
"Kane in front of goal is just brilliant. But, defensively there were far too many holes in front of the back four, we gave chances away, and they scored from their first one. There's also not enough quality n he wide areas for England."