England Gain Revenge Over Croatia with Four-Goal Victory as Portugal Stumble Against DR Congo

England avenged their painful defeat to Croatia in the semi-finals of the 2018 FIFA World Cup by securing an impressive 4-2 victory in a thrilling Group L encounter at AT&T Stadium in Dallas.

The Three Lions entered the match determined to underline their ambitions for the tournament and quickly established control under the leadership of captain Harry Kane. The striker opened the scoring from the penalty spot in the 12th minute before doubling England’s advantage just before half-time with his second goal in the 42nd minute.

Although Croatia twice fought their way back into the contest through goals from Martin Baturina and Petar Musa, England’s attacking quality proved decisive after the break. Just two minutes into the second half, Jude Bellingham extended his side’s lead with England’s third goal, before substitute Marcus Rashford completed the scoring five minutes from time to seal a convincing victory in front of a crowd of more than 70,000 spectators.

The defeat marked Croatia’s first loss after a run of four wins and two draws in their previous six matches at the World Cup.

In the other Group L fixture, Ghana secured a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Panama thanks to a dramatic winner from Caleb Yirenkyi in the fifth minute of stoppage time, earning the Black Stars three valuable points in their opening match.

The game also featured a historic milestone for Portuguese coach Carlos Queiroz, who became only the third manager in World Cup history to lead different national teams at five separate editions of the tournament.

The victory moved Ghana into second place in the group behind England and also represented the second win for an African nation at the tournament, following Ivory Coast’s victory over Ecuador.

Disappointing Start for Portugal

In Group K, Portugal were held to a surprising 1-1 draw by the Democratic Republic of Congo in one of the biggest upsets of the opening round.

Portugal entered the match as overwhelming favourites thanks to their wealth of attacking talent, but they found themselves frustrated by a disciplined Congolese side that earned a historic result.

The match began perfectly for the Portuguese, with João Neves opening the scoring after just six minutes, suggesting that Roberto Martínez’s side were on course for a comfortable victory.

However, DR Congo, appearing at the World Cup finals for the first time in more than half a century, refused to surrender and found an equaliser through Yoane Wissa in first-half stoppage time.

Portugal pushed hard for a winner during the second half, but the Congolese defence and goalkeeper stood firm to preserve the draw and secure the nation’s first-ever point at a FIFA World Cup.

In the other match in the group, Colombia achieved a deserved 3-1 victory over Uzbekistan in front of nearly 80,000 spectators at the famous Azteca Stadium.

Despite the enthusiasm shown by Uzbekistan in their first-ever World Cup appearance, Colombia’s experience ultimately made the difference.

Daniel Muñoz opened the scoring in the 40th minute following an excellent assist from star winger Luis Díaz.

Uzbekistan levelled shortly after the restart through Abbosbek Fayzullaev, but their celebrations were short-lived as Díaz restored Colombia’s lead just five minutes later.

Deep into stoppage time, substitute Jaminton Campaz added a third goal to secure victory and send Colombia to the top of Group K as they look to make a deep run in the tournament after missing out on qualification for the 2022 World Cup.