World Cup golden boot rivals boosted by Neymar injury

England required a stoppage-time winner from skipper Harry Kane to trump Tunisia 2-1 in their Group G curtain-raiser but that hasn’t stopped the punters from getting stuck into the Three Lions for World Cup glory.

Kane’s late header gifted England their first win in the opening game of a major tournament since they beat Paraguay in the 2006 World Cup, and they have been in demand since the final whistle in Volgograd.

Bet365 reported that England, 12-1 to be crowned champions of the world having been 18-1 shots at the outset, are their biggest liability.

The Three Lions are 11-8 to win Group G and as short as 1-40 to qualify, while matchwinner Kane was just a 6-1 chance to be the competition’s top goalscorer after his brilliant brace.

After defeats for Egypt, Morocco, Nigeria and Tunisia, Senegal showed that there is an African side with the potential to have a decent run in the competition

Portugal talisman Cristiano Ronaldo, who takes on Morocco on Wednesday, was still hot favourite to finish as leading marksman after his sensational hat-trick against Iberian rivals Spain, but Neymar is on the drift after hobbling out of training as Brazil prepared for their crunch clash with Costa Rica.

Tite's troops returned to full training at their base on Tuesday but the PSG star, who has recently recovered from a broken foot, was unable to complete the session and was available at 18-1 for the golden boot on Tuesday night having gone off at 12-1.

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Group H was widely considered as the most open heat in Russia and it lived up to its billing on Tuesday as favourites Colombia were beaten 2-1 by 5-1 shots Japan.

Colombia picked up the first red card of the tournament and conceded a penalty inside three minutes when defensive midfielder Carlos Sanchez was dismissed for handling Shinji Kagawa’s strike.

Juan Quintero’s clever free kick put Colombia level at the break but Japan eventually profited from their extra man as Yuya Osako pinched a winner 17 minutes from time.

Senegal, making just their second World Cup appearance, joined Japan on maximum points in Group H by recording a 2-1 success over Poland.

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