World Cup Roundup: Kane Sets Record, Two Ballon d'Or Winners Disappoint, Asian Teams Suffer Three Losses, and China's National Team Becomes an Unfortunate Benchmark

On June 18 Beijing time, the World Cup wrapped up the first round of four matches in Groups K and L. The two title contenders, England and Portugal, experienced very different outcomes: England defeated a strong Croatia team to open with a victory, whereas Portugal suffered a shock draw against debutants DR Congo.

As for the star players taking the stage today, Kane's brace highlighted his European Golden Boot quality, while the two Ballon d'Or winners, Ronaldo and Modric, had a night to forget.

[Group K: Portugal 1-1 DR Congo, Colombia 3-1 Uzbekistan]

In the earlier match, Portugal was surprisingly held to a 1-1 draw by DR Congo. In the 6th minute, Ney delivered a cross from the left, and João Neves headed home to give Portugal the lead.

However, in the 5th minute of first-half stoppage time, DR Congo equalized when Masuaku crossed and Wissa headed in. The second half saw no further goals. The 41-year-old Ronaldo played the full 90 minutes but managed zero shots on target, putting in a lackluster performance.

In the other match that finished later, Colombia defeated Uzbekistan 3-1. In the 41st minute, Díaz chipped the ball forward, and Muñoz darted in to volley home, breaking the deadlock for Colombia.

In the 61st minute, Fayzullayev scored with a close-range header from a rebound to level for Uzbekistan. Just five minutes later, Díaz fired a low shot into the far corner, completing a goal and assist on the night, and in stoppage time, Campaz sealed the victory for Colombia.

After the first round, Colombia leads the group with 3 points, while DR Congo and Portugal each have 1 point. DR Congo sits second ahead of Portugal on disciplinary points, Portugal is third, and Uzbekistan is at the bottom with 0 points.

[Group L: England 4-2 Croatia, Ghana 1-0 Panama]

In the earlier match, England and Croatia engaged in a goal-filled contest. In the 9th minute, Modric conceded a penalty, and Kane converted his second attempt successfully. In the 36th minute, Sučić laid the ball back from the edge of the box, and Baturina followed up with a powerful shot to equalize for Croatia. In the 42nd minute, Rice crossed, and Kane headed home to put England ahead again. Then in the 5th minute of first-half stoppage time, Perišić headed the ball across, and Petar Musa scored with a volley to level the score once more for Croatia.

After the break, in the 47th minute, Bellingham embarked on a solo run and slotted home to give England the lead again. In the 85th minute, Saka assisted Rashford, who drove a low shot into the net to seal the victory for England.

In the other match that finished later, Ghana and Panama battled it out in a tough contest. It was not until the 5th minute of stoppage time that Ghana counter-attacked: Asante crossed, and the 20-year-old Ilenki tapped in from the far post to secure a late winner for Ghana.

After the first round, England and Ghana both have 3 points, with England leading on goal difference. Panama and Croatia sit in third and fourth place respectively.

[Today's Interesting Stats and Facts]

1. After scoring twice in the opening round, Kane has now netted 81 goals for his country and 10 World Cup goals, tying Lineker as England's all-time top scorer in World Cup history. With 115 appearances, he has also surpassed Beckham to rank third in England's all-time appearance list.

2. Ronaldo, who failed to score in the first round, has now gone 10 consecutive matches without a goal in the World Cup and European Championship combined.

3. Both Modric and Ronaldo, who played on the same day, became the oldest non-goalkeeper players aged 40 or over to appear in a World Cup match. Apart from them, the only other such player in history is Cameroon's Roger Milla.

4. After being beaten by Ghana in their opening match, Panama has now lost all four World Cup games they have played. Along with Iraq and Haiti (also four losses each), these three teams have surpassed China's men's national team to become tied for the second-most consecutive World Cup losses in history. El Salvador holds the record with six.

5. Ghana's head coach Carlos Queiroz, at 72 years and 317 days old, became the oldest manager to win a World Cup match. Having led a team in the World Cup five times, he is now tied with Bora Milutinović as the manager with the most tournament appearances.

6. After starting with six unbeaten matches (two wins and four draws), Asian teams have now suffered three consecutive defeats. However, all nine Asian teams that have appeared in the tournament have scored in their opening matches.

7. Both Uzbekistan and DR Congo scored their first-ever World Cup goals in their respective tournament debuts. This leaves only China's national team and Indonesia as the remaining teams in World Cup history with zero goals and zero points.