By Michael Church, William Schomberg, Nicole Fernandes and Christian RadnedgeThomas Tuchel praised his side’s ruthless response to a chaotic first-half performance as England opened their Group L campaign at the World Cup with a 4-2 win over Croatia in Dallas on Wednesday.Jude Bellingham and Marcus Rashford struck in the second 45 minutes to seal victory after Harry Kane had twice seen goals cancelled out by Croatia in the opening half when Martin Baturina and Petar Musa netted for Zlatko Dalic’s side.“I love the second half, all of it,” Tuchel said. “I love the reaction to a very complicated first half against top opponents.“I think we showed a bit of nerves, maybe we wanted to overdo it, but we clearly overthought our decisions, it took us too long to take decisions. When we could play short we played long, and when we could play long we played short.“We spent way too much time in a low block, which is also not our identity, and not what we wanted to have. The leads, both leads, didn’t make us more free. I had the impression we had to protect something now, we were punished for it, which is psychologically not easy. But I love the reaction after half time.”England had appeared in control when Kane gave his side the lead in the 12th minute with a retaken penalty but Baturina’s clinical strike levelled the scores before Kane scored his 10th World Cup career goal with a pinpoint header.Musa’s equaliser in stoppage time capped a thrilling first half but the English asserted greater control after the interval with Bellingham and Rashford’s strikes securing the points.“There’s still things to improve,” said Tuchel. “I think this is also quite normal.“After a first match, you need to grow into a tournament. We got a tough draw in the tournament, so the positives are clearly the ones we will focus on now and enjoy the moment, and we have enough days to adjust.”Tuchel praised Kane’s “absolute commitment” after the Bayern Munich forward made a late intervention in his own penalty area to deny Croatia a third goal and revealed that midfielder Declan Rice was taken off as a precautionary measure.“I saw a bit of discomfort and I asked him, and he pointed directly to this lower back, up behind the hamstring,” said Tuchel. “I didn’t want to take any risks.“It was the moment to protect him, and I think Reece James did so well to replace him in central midfield, a fantastic game. I hope it’s nothing more and he reassured me at the end, it’s good, it’s good.”Kane opened the scoring with a retaken penalty in the 12th minute before Croatia levelled 24 minutes later when Martin Baturina capitalised on errors by England’s midfield and unleashed a shot that Jordan Pickford got a hand to but could not stop.Kane then equalled the England World Cup scoring record of 10 goals held by Gary Lineker when he was given the freedom of the penalty box to head home from a Declan Rice corner in the 42nd.But Croatia made it 2-2 in the fifth minute of time added on at the end of the first half when Petar Musa was picked out by Ivan Perisic’s deft header and he blasted the ball past Pickford.Two minutes after the interval, Bellingham sprinted half the length of the pitch after being set free by Elliot Anderson and his low-angled shot went in off the post. A counter-attacking move finished by Rashford in the 85th made sure of the win which leaves England well placed in Group L.In Wednesday’s other Group L game (early hours of Thursday in SA), Caleb Yirenkyi scored deep into stoppage time to earn Ghana a 1-0 victory over Panama, earning the African side a crucial three points in their bid to reach the knockout stage for the first time since 2010.Yirenkyi’s goal came in the 95th minute after Thomas-Asante skipped past Panama defender Jose Cordoba and played a pass into the area, which the 20-year-old Yirenkyi bundled home.Panama threw everyone forward for a late free kick in a desperate attempt to get an equaliser, but Ghana hung on.Cecilio Waterman’s curling strike in the second minute forced an excellent save from Ghana goalkeeper Lawrence Ati Zigi, who was replaced by Benjamin Asare at the start of the second half due to injury.Ghana next face Group L leaders England. Panama will try to secure their first World Cup win when they take on Croatia.In Group K on Wednesday (early housr of Thursday in SA), after Portugal were held to a 1-1 draw by Democaritic Republic of Congo, Colombia winger Luis Diaz dazzled at a raucous Azteca Stadium as his side marked their return to the World Cup with a 3-1 win over tournament debutants Uzbekistan.Colombia, who missed the 2022 tournament in Qatar, struggled in the early stages but broke through in the 41st minute when a brilliant ball lifted into the area by Diaz was hooked in on the turn by Daniel Munoz, who had ghosted in behind the defence.Uzbekistan equalised on the hour mark after a shot from striker Eldor Shomurodov was spilled by goalkeeper Camilo Vargas and Abbosbek Fayzullaev was on the line to head in. However, Diaz restored Colombia’s lead five minutes later by slotting the ball in from the left of the area.Substitute Jaminton Campaz headed in a third in stoppage time and Colombia top Group K after Portugal and Democratic Republic of Congo drew 1-1. The South Americans face DR Congo on Tuesday in Guadalajara after Uzbekistan play Portugal in Houston.All the World Cup fixtures hereWorld Cup page hereAll the group profiles hereStar player profiles hereBafana news here