MEXICO CITY, June 17 (Xinhua) -- Harry Kane scored twice as England opened with a victory, while the Democratic Republic of the Congo earned a historic first World Cup point on Wednesday.
At Dallas Stadium, Kane scored twice in the first half as England overcame a spirited display from Croatia to secure a 4-2 win.
The Bayern Munich striker converted from the penalty spot before Martin Baturina equalized in the 36th minute.
Kane then headed in from Declan Rice's corner, but Croatia again drew level through Petar Musa's clinical finish on the stroke of halftime.
Jude Bellingham restored England's lead with a 47th-minute goal and substitute Marcus Rashford put the result beyond doubt five minutes from time as he curled a shot beyond Dominik Livakovic.
"I think we showed a bit of nerves," England manager Thomas Tuchel said. "Maybe we wanted to do overdo it, but we clearly over-thought our decisions. It took us too long to take decisions. When we could play short, we played long. When we could have played long, we played short."
In Houston, DR Congo marked its first World Cup appearance in 52 years with a 1-1 draw against Portugal.
Joao Neves put the European side in front in the sixth minute, glancing in a cross from Pedro Neto. But Yoane Wissa equalized by latching onto Arthur Masuaku's cross in first-half stoppage time.
DR Congo manager Sebastien Desabre lauded the "incredible commitment and selflessness" of his side after it earned the country's first-ever World Cup point.
"The players showed incredible commitment and selflessness," Desabre said. "We executed the game plan exactly as we wanted, scored from a set piece, and honestly, I am very proud of my players because they represented the Congo in a very positive way and the entire country deserves it."
Full-back Joao Cancelo lamented his team's inability to breach the African side's low defensive block.
"We had a lot of possession, but we didn't create many clear-cut chances," he said. "We lacked intensity in the final third. We could have played better and we allowed our opponents too many transition opportunities. We're all players with great humility. We need to look at where we went wrong, correct our mistakes and win the next match."
In Toronto, a stoppage-time strike from Caleb Yirenkyi gave Ghana a 1-0 win over Panama.
The 20-year-old midfielder broke the deadlock in the 95th minute when he tapped in from close range following Brandon Thomas-Asante's menacing run and pass.
"The result is painful, but that is because we deserved better," Panama manager Thomas Christiansen said. "We controlled the first half, but in the second half, we played their game a bit more. That's not how we wanted to play, but now is not the time for regrets."
At Mexico City Stadium, Luis Diaz scored one goal and set up another as Colombia registered a 3-1 win over Uzbekistan in Group K.
Daniel Munoz opened the scoring with an athletic volley, but Uzbekistan equalized through Abbosbek Fayzullaev.
Diaz's clinical finish restored Colombia's advantage before Jaminton Campaz put the result beyond doubt with an injury-time header. ■
