Portuguese great Ronaldo, 41, has a tough act to follow after his old nemesis Lionel Messi scored a spectacular hat-trick for Argentina on Tuesday to equal the all-time World Cup goalscoring record, making a mockery of his 38 years.Between them, Ronaldo and Messi have won the Ballon d'Or award for the world's best player 13 times.Ronaldo is expected to start against the Democratic Republic of Congo in Houston, captaining a richly talented Portugal squad that are trying to win football's biggest prize for the first time.England skipper Harry Kane meanwhile urged his England team-mates to "go for it" and be "free in the mind" when they take on the beaten 2018 finalists Croatia in the vast AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.Kane's team are among the favourites for the World Cup after a string of near-misses at recent tournaments but history weighs heavy on a side who last won football's biggest prize on home soil in 1966.
Harry Kane is bidding to help England end a six-decade trophy drought © Paul ELLIS / AFP
"For sure it's one of the best opportunities we will have as a team to win it," Kane said on Tuesday."I think everyone is eager to just start well tomorrow and prove that we have the capabilities of going far in this tournament."Ultimately, for me, the message is just to be free in the mind."In other games on Wednesday, Ghana face Panama in Toronto in England's Group L before first-time qualifiers Uzbekistan tackle Colombia at the Estadio Azteca in Mexico City in Group K.Messi magicOn an extraordinary day Tuesday, Messi started his 200th international appearance by claiming a piece of history, becoming the first man to play in six World Cups as he led Argentina onto the field at Kansas City's Arrowhead Stadium -- a record that Ronaldo should equal on Wednesday.It marked exactly 20 years since Messi's first appearance at a World Cup.
