Kane stars as England wins, Congo earns first World Cup point
Kane’s double sent England past Croatia in Dallas, while DR Congo’s 1-1 draw with Portugal delivered its first World Cup goal and point.
England opened the 2026 World Cup with a 4-2 victory over Croatia in Dallas, and Harry Kane quickly made the match feel routine for a side expected to win. In Houston, DR Congo turned a 1-1 draw with Portugal into a national milestone, collecting its first point in World Cup history and erasing one of the competition’s longest scoreless droughts.
Kane scored twice for England, including a retaken penalty after a Croatian infringement in the area. His second goal, a header from a Declan Rice corner, lifted him to 10 World Cup goals and tied Gary Lineker as England’s record scorer in the tournament. Jude Bellingham and Marcus Rashford also scored as England set off in Group L with the kind of result that confirmed the scale of its title expectations.
The victory also underlined the early shape of Thomas Tuchel’s reign. Confirmed as England manager in October 2024 and in charge from January 2025, Tuchel took England to the World Cup after a perfect qualifying campaign. England, now in its 17th World Cup and eighth in a row, arrived in the United States, Canada and Mexico with the burden of history still hanging over a squad that last lifted the trophy in 1966.
DR Congo’s day carried a different meaning entirely. Yoane Wissa’s header in first-half stoppage time against Portugal produced the country’s first World Cup goal and, with it, the first point in its World Cup history. FIFA said the goal came 52 years after the nation’s debut at the 1974 tournament, when it competed as Zaire. For Sébastien Desabre’s side, the draw was more than a result; it was a break in a generational pattern of absence and near misses.
That return itself had already marked a turning point. DR Congo secured its place at the finals by beating Jamaica 1-0 in the intercontinental playoff final in Guadalajara on March 31, 2026, ending a wait of more than half a century for another shot at the World Cup. Against Portugal, Cristiano Ronaldo’s 23rd World Cup appearance and status as the oldest outfield player to start a match added another layer of symbolism, but it was Wissa and DR Congo who left with something they had never had before: a point on the World Cup stage.
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