Kane double fires England World Cup bid as Ronaldo's Portugal stumble

LOS ANGELES: England began their World Cup campaign with a 4-2 victory over Croatia on Wednesday, while Portugal were held to a 1-1 draw by the Democratic Republic of Congo in another notable result on the opening day of group-stage action.

In Group L, England came through an eventful contest in Texas at the Dallas Cowboys' NFL stadium, with Harry Kane scoring twice before Jude Bellingham and Marcus Rashford added further goals. The result marked the start of England's latest attempt to end a 60-year wait for a major trophy.

Kane put England ahead from the penalty spot after being allowed to retake his effort when Croatian goalkeeper Dominik Livakovic was ruled to have moved off his line. Croatia responded through Martin Baturina in the 36th minute, but Kane restored England's lead with a powerful header, drawing level with Gary Lineker's England mark of 10 World Cup goals.

England's defensive problems remained evident as Petar Musa scored in first-half stoppage time to make it 2-2. The balance shifted after the break, when Bellingham surged clear of his marker to score, before substitute Rashford sealed the result in the 85th minute.

After the match, Kane said coach Thomas Tuchel had delivered a pointed message at the interval. "The manager gave us a speech at half-time just to say, look, if we lose, we lose. We're losing our way," Kane said. "And I think you saw that, the way we come out in the second half. We went full gas. And they couldn't live with it."

Portugal held despite early lead

Earlier in Houston, Cristiano Ronaldo equalled the six-World-Cup record set on Tuesday by Lionel Messi, but Portugal could not convert that milestone into victory as they were held by DR Congo in Group K.

Joao Neves gave Portugal the lead in the first half, but Yoane Wissa equalised with a header in first-half stoppage time to secure DR Congo's first point and first goal at a World Cup. Wissa is a player for English Premier League club Newcastle.

Portugal coach Roberto Martinez defended his decision to keep starting Ronaldo, who struggled to make an impact against a disciplined Congolese defence.

"It makes no sense to take off the best goal scorer in world football out in a game that you need goals," Ronaldo did not speak to reporters after the match, but later wrote on Instagram. "It's not the start we wanted, but it's a long road and it's not finished."

DR Congo coach Sebastien Desabre said the result carried added significance, with the team's preparations affected by the Ebola outbreak in their country. "It is a tremendous source of pride to have earned DR Congo's first-ever point at the Fifa World Cup, as well as its first goal. I am very proud of my players because they represented the Congo in a very positive way and the entire country deserves it."

Several Portugal players wore wristbands in memory of former teammate Diogo Jota, who, died in a car crash last year.

Other results

Also in Group L, Ghana beat Panama 1-0 in Toronto through Caleb Yirenkyi's goal in the fifth minute of stoppage time. The win moved Ghana level with England on three points. Ghana had reached the quarter-finals at the 2010 World Cup, but exited in the group stage at their two most recent appearances in 2014 and 2022.

England will next face Ghana in Boston on June 23. In Wednesday's late fixture, first-time qualifiers Uzbekistan were due to play Colombia at the Estadio Azteca in Mexico City in Group K, which also includes Portugal.