Kane ties England’s record
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ARLINGTON, Texas -- Hey, Jude, you and Harry didn't let England down.
Harry Kane scored twice to equal the English record for World Cup goals, and Jude Bellingham put England in front for good two minutes into the second half of a 4-2 victory over Croatia on Wednesday.
Martin Baturina and Petar Musa answered each of Kane's first-half goals in a rematch of a 2018 semifinal won by Croatia. Musa's goal came on the final play before the whistle ending the first half.
The even score didn't last long once play resumed.
Bellingham took a long pass from Elliot Anderson and stayed clear of the defender the rest of the way, sending a shot past Dominik Livakovic and in off the far post. Marcus Rashford padded the lead in the 85th minute.
"He just told us to let the shackles off," Kane said of coach Thomas Tuchel's halftime message after Croatia pulled even so late before the break. "The way we conceded that second goal is not the team we want to be. He finally just said, 'What's the worst that can happen? We lose the match, first group game, we get on with it.' We move on. Just go and kind of show the world who we can be."
Kane, who won the Golden Boot at the 2018 World Cup in Russia by scoring six times, is up to 10 World Cup goals, tying Gary Lineker's mark from the 1986 and 1990 tournaments.
The 32-year-old's first goal came on his second chance on a penalty kick after Livakovic's save on the first try was nullified by a video review that showed both his feet off the goal line as Kane was striking the ball.
Kane went the same way toward the right post with the second attempt, while Livakovic lunged the other direction, to his right.
The penalty was called when Luka Modric, the 40-year-old midfielder who extended his Croatian record by appearing in his fifth World Cup, kicked Noni Madueke in the thigh.
Kane matched Lineker's mark when the Bayern Munich striker easily beat Livakovic with a powerful header off a corner kick from Declan Rice. Kane has 81 international goals.
Portugal, Congo tie
HOUSTON -- Cristiano Ronaldo and his Portugal teammates were surprisingly held to a 1-1 draw by Congo in their opening match of the World Cup.
Congo became the second African nation to make a strong start in the tournament against European competition following Cape Verde's 0-0 draw with Spain on Monday.
João Neves gave Portugal the lead in the sixth minute. Yoane Wissa equalized for Congo with a header in stoppage time at the end of the first half.
Ghana tops Panama
TORONTO -- Caleb Yirenkyi tapped in a cross from Brandon Thomas-Asante in the fifth minute of second-half stoppage time, and Ghana beat Panama 1-0 on Wednesday night in the teams' World Cup opener.