Kane nets twice for England as Ronaldo struggles in Portugal's draw with DR Congo

Harry Kane struck twice as England defeated Croatia on Day 7 of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, while Cristiano Ronaldo endured a frustrating evening as Portugal were held to a draw by DR Congo in the tournament’s other headline fixture.

England 2 – Croatia

Kane’s brace takes his England tally to 81 goals, making him the tenth player in history to score 80 or more international goals and only the fifth European to reach that mark, joining Ronaldo, Romelu Lukaku, Robert Lewandowski and Ferenc Puskás. He also became just the second England player to score at three separate World Cups, following David Beckham, who achieved the feat across the 1998, 2002 and 2006 tournaments.

FC Dallas forward Petar Musa scored for Croatia against England, meaning an MLS player has now scored on consecutive days at a World Cup for the first time in the tournament’s history — Inter Miami’s Lionel Messi having netted a hat-trick the previous day. Croatia’s Ivan Perišić assisted Musa’s goal, giving him assists at four different World Cups; the only other player to manage that since 1966 is Messi.

England’s Reece James started at right back, and with his sister Lauren having previously started at the Women’s World Cup, the siblings became the first brother-and-sister combination to both start matches at the respective men’s and women’s tournaments.

Portugal 1 – 1 DR Congo

Ronaldo, aged 41 years and 132 days, became the oldest outfield player to start a World Cup match and the second-oldest starter overall in the competition’s history, behind Egyptian goalkeeper Essam El Hadary, who was 45 years and 161 days old when he played at the 2018 tournament. Despite the historic milestone, Ronaldo struggled to influence the game and his role in the Portuguese squad remains a subject of debate.

DR Congo, competing in their first World Cup since 1974 — when the country was known as Zaire — recorded both their first-ever point and their first-ever goal at the tournament. In their three matches in 1974 they had been outscored 14-0. They are the second African side at this tournament to take a point against a top-five ranked nation, following Cape Verde’s draw against Spain.

Portugal midfielder Vitinha set a World Cup record for passes attempted (128) and completed (121) by a player who featured for less than 90 minutes since 1966, according to Opta. Yoane Wissa scored DR Congo’s historic goal — his ninth in 39 appearances for the national side — in what Opta noted was the first World Cup match of the 21st century in which two players under 5-foot-9 scored headers, the other being Portugal’s João Neves.

Ghana vs. Panama

Jordan Ayew featured for Ghana, becoming the fourth Ghanaian player to participate in three editions of the men’s World Cup, having also appeared at the 2014 and 2022 tournaments.