Cristiano Ronaldo and his Portugal teammates were surprisingly held to a 1-1 draw by Congo on Wednesday in their opening match at the World Cup.

Congo, which was playing at the World Cup for the first time in 52 years, became the second African nation to make a strong start in the tournament against European competition following Cape Verde’s 0-0 draw with Spain on Monday.

“The World Cup is a tournament where this happens,” said Portugal coach Roberto Martínez, a Spaniard who coached Belgium to the semifinals at the 2018 tournament. “At times the performance is not up to the challenge.”

Playing in front of a crowd of 68,777 spectators at NRG Stadium, which was mostly filled with Portugal supporters, Congo earned its first point at the World Cup after losing all three of its previous matches.

Many Congolese were prevented from traveling to the United States for this year’s tournament because of restrictions tied to Ebola.

João Neves gave Portugal an early lead in the sixth minute. The 5-foot-7 midfielder headed in a cross from Pedro Neto.

But Yoane Wissa equalized for Congo with a header in stoppage time at the end of the first half off a cross from Arthur Masuaku.

England 4, Croatia 2 — Harry Kane scored twice to equal the English record for World Cup goals, and Jude Bellingham added another two minutes into the second half as England beat Croatia.

Martin Baturina and Petar Musa answered each of Kane’s first-half goals in a rematch of the 2018 semifinal game won by Croatia. Musa’s goal came on the final play before the whistle ending the first half.

The tie score didn’t last long once play resumed.

Bellingham took a long pass and stayed clear of the defender the rest of the way, sending a shot past Dominik Livakovic and in off the far post. Marcus Rashford padded the lead in the 85th minute.

Kane, who won the Golden Boot at the 2018 World Cup in Russia by scoring six times, is up to 10 World Cup goals, tying Gary Lineker’s mark from the 1986 and 1990 tournaments.

The 32-year-old striker’s first goal came on his second chance on a penalty kick after Livakovic’s save on the first try was nullified by a video review that showed both his feet off the goal line as Kane was striking the ball.

Ghana 1, Panama 0 — Caleb Yirenkyi tapped in a cross from Brandon Thomas-Asante in the fifth minute of second-half stoppage time to lead Ghana over Panama.

At the end of a game that saw few chances for either side, Thomas-Asante got loose on the left side and fired the ball across the goal mouth. Yirenkyi knocked it in, sending his teammates streaming onto the field.

Ghana played without midfielder Thomas Partey, who was denied entry into Canada while he awaits trial on rape charges in England.

The late goal denied Panama its first World Cup point.

Austria 3, Jordan 1 — Austria won a World Cup game for the first time in 36 years with a victory over a Jordan team making its debut at soccer’s premier global event.

An own goal from a corner kick that deflected off Jordanian defender Yazan Al Arab gave Austria a 2-1 lead in the 76th minute. Marko Arnautovic’s penalty kick deep in stoppage team extended the margin.