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The spot-kick was awarded in the ninth minute after Luka Modric fouled Noni Madueke.England captain Kane saw his first effort saved by Croatia goalkeeper Dominik Livakovic.The VAR stepped in to give Kane a second chance because Livakovic was off his line.At the time a kick is taken the keeper must have one foot on or above the line, and images showed that Livakovic had moved fractionally too soon.But even if the keeper had stayed on his line, the penalty would still have been retaken.After Livakovic made the save the loose ball dropped to Manchester City's Josko Gvardiol to clear for Croatia.But he had also moved too quickly and was inside the area when Kane took his first attempt.This is not an automatic retake, as the defender must impact an opposition attacker.Madueke was behind Gvardiol, so by clearing the ball he prevented the Arsenal winger from getting a shot from the rebound.Kane duly despatched at the second attempt.Croatia equalise again as England drawing 2-2 in thrilling World Cup openerKane's previous with retaken penaltiesInterestingly, Kane had a similar penalty saved for Bayern Munich in the Champions League against Atalanta earlier this season.Afterwards the forward said he had seen that the goalkeeper liked to come off his line, adding: "I knew that if I stopped, there was a good chance he'd come too far forward. And that's exactly what happened."Following Kane's penalty against Croatia, former Three Lions defender Conor Coady told 5 Live: "He can take any sort of penalty. He is that good at penalties."That is really clever if that is something he is thinking of, if he is watching other keepers and how they move and what they do, that is a really clever thing to do."He must've practiced, he's obviously looked at the keeper."Former Spurs and England goalkeeper Paul Robinson added: "It has worked for him. The goalkeeper has come off his line but the interesting thing is he stuck to that technique for the next one."I have seen him do it this season before and I think his confidence and where he's at at the moment, you can't question him."The actual strike of the penalty was too close to the goalkeeper. Even if the goalkeeper hadn't tried to seek the advantage he would have still saved it."You look at the way he learned from the first penalty, was brave enough to go the same way and this one was much closer to the corner. He'll have practised many penalties going into this tournament."Play BBC Sport's new World Cup predictor gameEverything you need to know about the World Cup

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England's World Cup opener against Croatia - which you can follow here - is now under way.You can rate both sets of players out of 10 below and come back 30 minutes after full-time to see the final ratings.Rate players out of 10 for this game. The rater will close 30 minutes after the final whistle. You must be signed in to a BBC account to play.After the opportunity to rate players has closed, the score displayed represents the average from all the submissions by BBC Sport users.Can Bellingham become England's superstar once more at the World Cup?

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Brest manager Eric Roy has died at the age of 58, the French Ligue 1 club have announced. A statement by Roy's family said the former Sunderland midfielder had been fighting pancreatic cancer for three and a half years.The Frenchman, who was sporting director at Watford in 2019 when the club were in the Premier League, joined Brest in January 2023 and guided them to Champions League qualification for the 2024-25 season - their first ever campaign in Europe."It is difficult to find the words to express all the sadness we feel following the passing of our coach Eric Roy," Brest wrote on X."The president, the management, and the entire Stade Brestois 29 share the pain of his family, his wife, his two children, as well as all his loved ones."His family wrote: “Dad was deeply kind, tender, upright, and honest. He knew how to encourage, to pass on knowledge, to push others to surpass themselves, to become the best version of themselves.“He had that demanding nature, that fairness, and that humanity.”Roy, who also played for and managed French side Nice, scored one goal during 27 appearances for Sunderland during the 1999-2000 season.Listen to the latest Football Daily podcast

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15 CommentsVozinha, the goalkeeper whose heroics helped Cape Verde earn a draw against Spain, is set to be reunited with his mother ahead of their next game against Uruguay on Sunday.The 40-year-old told reporters after Monday's player-of-the-match performance that his mum had been unable to attend the World Cup because of the high cost of obtaining a US visa.But according to US House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries,, external the visa fees have now been waived and arrangements are being made for her to travel to Miami."No mother should miss the chance to see her child make history," said Jeffries on X."I spoke with Secretary of State Marco Rubio and asked the State Department to do everything in its power to ensure that his mother can attend Cape Verde's next match."It is a privilege to announce that Vozinha's mom will be able to secure a visa in time to attend the game this Sunday against Uruguay. All fees have been waived consistent with official policy. Travel arrangements are now being made for mother and son to reunite in Miami."I thank Secretary Rubio, US State Department officials, the government of Cape Verde and Fifa for working together to make this possible," added the Brooklyn Congressman.A US State Department official later added: "We can confirm our visa team in Praia is in close touch with her and providing the needed services."Cape Verde is one of five countries participating in the tournament whose citizens are required by the US government to pay a refundable visa deposit of around £11,000, although fans with match tickets were exempted from the rule in May.Vozinha has become a cult hero after his performance against Spain, attracting millions of new followers on social media.He has earned 91 caps for his country and currently plays club football for Chaves in Portugal's second tier, after a career that has included spells in Slovakia, Angola, Moldova and Cyprus."I cried because I grew up with my grandparents," said Vozinha following the goalless draw. "Unfortunately, they were not here. They died a few years before. They were everything to me, everything in my life."And also because of my mum. She didn't manage to be here because of the visa. Because of the money you have to pay for the visa, we didn't manage it in time. I would like her to be here."At 40 years and 12 days, Vozinha became the oldest player to appear in a nation's debut World Cup match."I started playing professional football when I was 25 years old, in 2012. It was too late for a person like me," he added."I thought about leaving the national team, but then I continued because of this dream.Cape Verde face Uruguay on 21 June, followed by Saudi Arabia on 27 June in Group H.

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They came to see Cristiano Ronaldo, perhaps expecting feats to rival Lionel Messi’s remarkable display the night before. Ronaldo’s many followers in Houston did their best to summon a meaningful contribution from their idol but ultimately there were 16 players infinitely more deserving of acclaim. The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) could have folded after falling behind to João Neves’s early goal but recovered brilliantly to salvage a historic draw on their return to the World Cup, Yoane Wissa’s leveller followed by a triumph of defensive discipline and resolve.Roberto Martínez kept Ronaldo on the pitch for all 95 minutes but, beyond two half-chances midway through the second period, his contribution was minimal and did little to assuage concerns that his presence is a potentially crippling millstone.The roar when Ronaldo first took possession as the clock struck two minutes, thrilling the masses with a sideways pass to João Cancelo, underlined who a giant swathe of those present had arrived to witness. Texans had embraced their dalliance with football celebrity even if the journey to the stadium, through part-flooded roads for anyone driving from downtown, proved a challenge amid torrential morning rain.Gianni Infantino, the president of Fifa who had facilitated Ronaldo’s eligibility for this match by suspending the final two matches of a three-game ban, was among those to arrive on time. Soon enough the thousands in red shirts, an uncommonly high percentage decorated with the number seven, could rise to their feet again. Neves may not be a household name here but his firmly planted header, after he reached Pedro Neto’s cross ahead of a leaden Axel Tuanzebe, left the keeper Lionel Mpassi standing as it zipped into his left corner.It was exactly the start the DRC must have feared. Their backing here was restricted to small pockets of mostly expatriate fans, the 21-day Ebola-enforced quarantine imposed on visitors to the US from their homeland having proved prohibitive for most. Sébastien Desabre’s team had themselves been forced to prepare in a Belgium-based bubble before arriving in Houston, where they are based for the tournament and were warmly received last week.They had barely left their own half when Neves scored but began to flicker, Wissa bobbling a shot wide and his strike partner Cédric Bakambu seeing a strike deflected away. Portugal were in enough of a game for Ronaldo to remonstrate heavily upon seeing Bernardo Silva booked, a resulting rebuke from the referee Abdulrahman Al-Jassim drawing boos when shown on the big screen.When Nuno Mendes threatened to finish a burst down the left, Aaron Wan-Bissaka effectively kept the contest alive with a perfect intervention. The tempo was hardly breakneck, Portugal controlling matters consummately enough and Ronaldo briefly perking up when an apologetic Cancelo centred too far in front. Wan-Bissaka again snuffed out a Mendes break and an experienced DRC back line was occasionally living on its wits.But this was nothing like the DRC side, then known as Zaire, that flopped so infamously on their last World Cup appearance in 1974. They had clawed a foothold in the game and, with the first half’s final action, it became a heaving leg up. A shot from the midfielder Samuel Moutoussamy had brought a couple of corners and the second, taken short, offered Arthur Masuaku the angle to deliver from the right. Wissa, unmarked and leaping high, was there to meet the ball in with a header that crashed into the roof of Diogo Costa’s net and spark celebratory dances by the touchline.Portugal had paid for settling into a languid pace that, even if it meant Ronaldo was not forced to overexert from the periphery, gave their opponents encouragement. Soon after the restart Costa was required to parry Bakambu’s angled effort and Martínez, who had introduced Francisco Conceição for Bernardo Silva at the interval, needed his players to wake up.They were buoyed by the novel spectacle of the DRC taking too long over a goal kick and being punished by the concession of a corner. But it came to nothing, as did an acrobatic effort from Conceição that beat Mpassi but was ruled out for offside. Portugal were barely stretching the DRC and the outlandish thought persisted that some movement up front might help.When Ronaldo’s chance finally arrived, the busy Conceição having broken into space on the right of the box, the cutback was slightly behind him and the resulting shot stubbed wide. The move was almost exactly repeated after the second-half hydration break, much to the agony of Ronaldo’s baying public.They ramped up the volume and Portugal, sensing tiredness in the DRC, sought to turn the screw. Bakambu, spooning over after a promising counter, missed a chance to stun them; Martínez responded by rolling the dice again but Vitinha, not Ronaldo, was sacrificed for Gonçalo Ramos. A speculative Bruno Fernandes shot was the closest they came to a winner.

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Cristiano Ronaldo struggled during his first performance in the 2026 World Cup as a disappointing Portugal were held to a 1-1 draw by DR Congo.Ronaldo started the game but failed to make the desired impact, missing two big chances of the game as Roberto Martinez's side failed to get out of first gear in Houston.Joao Neves had given Portugal a lead with a smart header inside six minutes, but that proved to be their only shot on target for the entire game.João Neves is the third youngest Portuguese scorer at the World Cup (21 years, 263 days), behind Cristiano Ronaldo in 2006 (21 years, 132 days) and Gonçalo Ramos in 2022 (21 years, 169 days). pic.twitter.com/47gVZEu01wDR Congo remained stubborn and were rewarded with their first ever World Cup goal courtesy of Newcastle's Yoane Wissa which proved enough to come away with a remarkable point in their first appearance at the tournament since 1974 as Zaïre.1 - Yoane Wissa has netted 🇨🇩 Congo DR's first ever FIFA World Cup goal.It's the first time a country's first goal has been scored by a player who plays for a @premierleague club since Everton's Tim Cahill scored 🇦🇺 Australia's first in 2006.History. pic.twitter.com/mxFsBaERkn

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The fixtures for the 2026-27 Scottish Premiership season are released on Thursday at 12:00 BST - and you can see them on the BBC Sport website and app as soon as they are announced.Last season was one of the most dramatic in recent memory as Celtic clinched a fifth straight title by beating underdogs Hearts in the final few minutes of the last game.Now, the countdown starts to the next campaign.The SPFL will announce the fixtures for the first 33 rounds at 12:00 BST on Thursday 18 June.When will the derbies be? Is it an away day first up?You can get the latest news from your favourite team sent direct to your device.If you are using the BBC Sport app, follow your team to add them to MySport and select the bell icon to sign up for your club's notifications, including news, goals and results.The top-flight action kicks off on the weekend of 1/2 August.While the fixtures will be released on Thursday, there will still be room for some shuffling about to accommodate games being broadcast live on television, so hold off booking that hotel room.Fixture round 33 arrives on 10 April, with the five rounds of post-split games ending on the weekend of 15/16 May.The Premiership play-off final will be played over two legs on 20 and 23 May.St Johnstone will replace Livingston in the Premiership this season, after Simo Valakari's side won the Championship to bounce straight back to the top-flight.St Mirren stayed up by beating Partick Thistle in the play-off final, so the rest of the division is the same as last season.Once again, there will be no winter break given the increased demands of the European schedule.Celtic are the only side to be guaranteed European football beyond qualifiers, with a place in the Europa League a consolation if they fail to make it past the Champions League play-off round.Hearts start their journey in the second round of Champions League qualifiers against Sturm Graz, while Rangers begin in the third round of Europa League qualifying.Motherwell have been drawn against Havnar Boltfelag of the Faroe Islands, while Hibernian take on the winners of tie between Vllaznia of Albania and Malisheva of Kosovo in the second stage of the Conference League qualifiers.Hearts, Hibs and Motherwell learn European opponentsPlenty are back in pre-season training this week with friendlies lined.The draw and schedule for the group stage have been made. The final is on Sunday 13 December.

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"Strong beliefs and confident in his own ability."Just two of the reasons Kris Boyd believes Rangers have finally got it right with the appointment of Derek McInnes as manager.The 54-year-old replaces Danny Röhl after guiding Hearts to second in the Scottish Premiership last season, eight points ahead of the Ibrox club.He was on the verge of taking charge in Govan in 2017, but opted to remain at Aberdeen for another four years before leaving by mutual consent.McInnes led Kilmarnock back to the top flight at the first time of asking, then led them to fourth and back into Europe, before moving to Hearts to take them within minutes of an historic title-winning season."It's been a long time coming," Boyd told Sky Sports News."I'm absolutely delighted he's managed to get the job and he'll be looking forward to the upcoming season."He was very unlucky last year, he's shown that he is a good operator in Scottish football and Rangers are hoping he can continue to improve."McInnes is the club's sixth permanent head coach since Steven Gerrard, the last man to lead them to Premiership glory, left in 2021.He is the first appointment from another Scottish top-flight club since Alex McLeish moved from Hibernian in 2001."I think we have a tendency in Scottish football to overlook our coaches," Boyd added."When you look at what Derek has done, even his Aberdeen team caused problems to Celtic for a number of years."He built something at Aberdeen, you only need to look at what was there before him and then what's happened after, and that stability he had at Aberdeen."He went to Hearts, and nobody thought Hearts were going to throw down the challenge they did and finish second."There's been a lot made of Jamestown Analytics and rightly so, but he stuck to his principles a lot of the time when you look at his team, the way he set up and the way he went about the business."It tells me he's confident in his own ability, he's not depending on anybody else."When you become the Rangers manager you need rhino skin, because you're going to be criticised right, left and centre - but you also have to have strong beliefs in what you're trying to implement."Over a period of time, Derek McInnes has been able to do that sort of thing."Rangers' summer rebuild is already under way, with new CEO Jim Gillespie, executive director Fraser Thornton, technical director Dan Purdy and consultant Stig Inge Bjørnebye working with the coaching team to add to the squad.Scotland international Lawrence Shankland was the first confirmed signing, joining from Hearts on a two-year deal with the option of a further 12 months.Captain James Tavernier, the highest-scoring right-back of all time, left at the end of the season after 11 years at the club."I think he's got a big summer ahead of him because Rangers do need a squad overhaul. They do need to get a good five or six players into it," said Boyd."Derek has always made the best of the funds he's had available, he's been able to get and build a squad wherever he's been that has been able to challenge deep into the season."He has shown that he can recruit players that give him and his team the best opportunity to win games and he'll be hoping to continue that theme at Rangers."Rangers have only won the Scottish Premiership once since 2011, and managing just one Scottish Cup and one League Cup in the same period.There is no doubt the new boss will be under pressure to deliver silverware in his first season."Rangers are still a huge football club, they underperformed last season and we're hoping that Derek McInnes is a man to take them back to winning trophies on a regular basis," said Boyd, who won six domestic honours with the club."Rangers do need to get back to winning trophies. It's been a long time."You would imagine there will be a large chunk of transfer money available for Derek to go and sign players. They will be hoping he can deliver that title."You could argue for Derek to finish second the amount of times he did with Aberdeen and then Hearts, it's like winning the league because of the financial power that Rangers and Celtic have had over the clubs that he's been at."

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Manchester City are weighing up a move for Tottenham target Sandro Tonali as well as continuing their pursuit of Elliot Anderson.Spurs want the Newcastle midfielder to be their marquee signing this summer, but they could face competition from City, who are working to rebuild their midfield for incoming boss Enzo Maresca after Pep Guardiola decided to step down at the end of the 2025/26 season.Tonali, who has a contract until 2029, is expected to command a huge fee, with Newcastle unwilling to sell the Italy international.Tonali has been a long-term target for City, but it was initially unclear if they would consider moving for him and Anderson in the same window.However, Sky Sports News understands City are interested in the possibility of doing deals for both players.City remain in talks with Nottingham Forest for Anderson for a transfer that is set to cost more than £100m. They have already had one bid rejected.City need to replace Bernardo Silva, who joined Real Madrid on Wednesday on a free transfer, while there have also been reports that Rodri is wanted at the Bernabeu.Tottenham also want to sign Tonali this summer, with the Italy international a top target for Roberto De Zerbi as he looks to rebuild his squad after helping the club avoid relegation from the Premier League.One of Spurs' top priorities this summer is improving the technical ability of the squad and bringing in a midfielder who can dictate play. Tonali has been identified by De Zerbi as an ideal candidate for that role.The Italian will have a big say on transfers this summer and a move for Tonali would underline Spurs' commitment to backing De Zerbi, and their promise to spend significantly on improving the squad.Tonali's current deal, signed in 2024 when he was serving a 10-month gambling ban, does not include a release clause, which puts Newcastle in a strong negotiating position.Spurs have secured the free agent signings of Andy Robertson and Marcos Senesi, while a deal to sign Jan Paul van Hecke for £52m has also been agreed.Tonali is one of the Premier League's best midfielders and has also been high on the lists of Arsenal and Manchester United.In a summer when midfielders are already coming at a premium, City's move for Anderson, which is expected to cost north of £100m, is likely to have a knock-on effect for other deals.