England 2, Tunisia 1

England 2, Tunisia 1

Kane’s brace paces Three Lions

VOLGOGRAD, Russia

Twice wrestled to the ground during the match, England captain Harry Kane finally evaded the Tunisian defense just as time was running out.

Kane found an open area of space at the far post and used his head to meet Harry Maguire’s flick-on, scoring the winning goal.

It was relief for Kane and Gareth Southgate, who leapt into the air in delight as his World Cup debut as a coach got off to a winning start.

England shouldn’t have found it so tough in its Group G opener against such opposition. Not after Kane got England off to a perfect start with an 11th-minute tap in. But after Kyle Walker softly conceded a penalty that Ferjani Sassi converted in the 35th, many of the fouls went against England.

Belgium 3, Panama 0

Canal Men fall flat in World Cup debut

SOCHI, Russia

Romelu Lukaku scored two goals in a six-minute span and Dries Mertens put in another Monday to give Belgium a win over Panama.

Saddled with massive expectations and a lineup of talent the envy of others in the tournament, Belgium finally showed flashes of being the dominant team worthy of title consideration.

It took a wonderful strike from Mertens to finally relieve some of the pressure. His perfectly struck volley from about 18 yards came in the 47th minute after Panama was unable to clear a free kick.

Lukaku made it 2-0 in the 69th off a pass by Kevin De Bruyne, and scored his second on a breakaway chip over Panama goalkeeper Jaime Penedo.

Panama, which was making its World Cup debut, was unable to reward its thousands of loud, passionate fans with a goal.

SWEDEN 1, South Korea 0

Video review helps Swedes for lone goal

NIZHNY NOVGOROD, Russia

Another video review led to a penalty at the World Cup, this time helping Sweden beat South Korea 1-0 Monday.

Sweden captain Andreas Granqvist converted from the spot, sliding his shot into the bottom right corner in the 65th minute.

Referee Joel Aguilar used the replay technology to decide whether South Korea substitute Kim Min-woo had fouled Viktor Claesson in the area after initially waving play on. Kim had tripped Claesson, though, and the converted penalty was enough to give Sweden its first World Cup victory since 2006.

Associated Press