England rout Croatia and Ronaldo's Portugal stumble as World Cup Groups A and B reopen
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England opened with the day's most emphatic result, beating Croatia 4-2 in their Group L opener. Harry Kane scored twice, with Jude Bellingham and Marcus Rashford also on the scoresheet, while Martin Baturina and Petar Musa replied for Croatia. The win sends England to the top of the group after matchday one.
Cristiano Ronaldo's record-equalling sixth World Cup began with a setback, as Portugal were held to a 1-1 draw by tournament debutants DR Congo. João Neves put Portugal ahead before Yoane Wissa levelled in the first half; Ronaldo, 41, was largely contained by the Congolese defence. The dropped points leave one of the pre-tournament favourites with ground to make up.
Colombia survived a spirited Uzbekistan side to win 3-1 at the Estadio Azteca and go top of Group K, according to ESPN's match report. Daniel Muñoz, Luis Díaz and substitute Jáminton Campaz scored, with Díaz also providing an assist; Abbosbek Fayzullaev's header gave Uzbekistan their first goal at a World Cup. Campaz settled it deep into stoppage time.
Ghana broke Panama's resistance with a 95th-minute winner from 20-year-old Caleb Yirenkyi to take their Group L opener 1-0 in Toronto, France 24 reported. The late goal denied Panama what would have been a hard-earned first World Cup point. The result also marked a milestone for veteran coach Carlos Queiroz, said to be the first manager at five consecutive World Cups.
The second round of group games in Groups A and B gets under way on June 18, with Czechia facing South Africa in Atlanta and co-hosts Mexico meeting South Korea, alongside Switzerland against Bosnia and Herzegovina and Canada against Qatar. Several of these sides are level on points after matchday one, making the fixtures pivotal. Results were still to be settled at the time of writing.
Transfer and squad notes
Germany lost teenage midfielder Lennart Karl to injury, with the German Football Association announcing the 18-year-old Bayern Munich player suffered a thigh muscle tear in training in Chicago and will miss the rest of the tournament. RB Leipzig's 20-year-old Assan Ouédraogo has been called up as his replacement, according to the DFB.
Ghana's Mohammed Kudus was reported as a doubt with a quad problem, with a possible return around June 18; the update is unconfirmed pending the squad's own announcement. As squad-replacement rules allow injured players to be swapped before a team's first match, several federations have already used the provision.
What it means for the league
Matchday one delivered an early jolt to the favourites: England look assured while Portugal's draw underlines how the expanded 48-team field rewards organised underdogs such as DR Congo. Colombia and Ghana banked narrow wins that could prove decisive on goal difference in tight groups, and Uzbekistan's maiden World Cup goal was a marker for the tournament's debutants. With Groups A and B now into their second games, the first qualification and elimination pressures of the group stage begin to bite.