England came out of the halftime on fire with two quick goals against Wales to take a 2-0 lead.

Marcus Rashford scored in the 50th minute on a beautiful free kick from just outside the box, followed by a goal from Phil Foden a minute later.

England advances to the second round with a win or draw. With a two-goal lead, they appear poised to earn the top spot in Group B.

The U.S. leads 1-0 against Iran at the half in a game they must win to advance to the knockout stage of the tournament.

Star striker Christian Pulisic scored the first goal of the game in the 38th minute on an assist from Sergiño Dest. Dest headed a ball to Pulisic, who was crashing into the box and knocked the ball into the bottom left corner of the net before crashing into Iran's goalkeeper.

The U.S. came very close to making it 2-0 in stoppage time of the first half when Timothy Weah beat the keeper one-on-one. However, Weah, who had scored the only goal in the tournament so far for the U.S., was called offside.

In the other Group B match, England and Wales remain tied at 0-0. England just needs a draw to advance to the knockout stage.

Christian Pulisic has knocked home a goal to give USA its first lead.

Pulisic, the team's biggest star, streaked to the net to knock one in from close range before crashing into Iran's goalkeeper. He remained down, in the net, before finally being helped off the field. After being checked out on the sidelines, he returned to the game.

The U.S. and Iran remain scoreless midway through the first half of a decisive Group B match in the World Cup, but the U.S. has had the majority of chances so far.

The U.S. had 60% of possession, four shots and two shots on goal in the first 30 minutes. Iran, meanwhile, has yet to attempt a shot.

England and Wales also remain in a 0-0 draw through 30 minutes.

Belgium entered the World Cup with the No. 2 ranking in the world with its so-called "Golden Generation" looking at one last chance to win the tournament. Now, the team is fighting just to advance to the knockout stage.

All eyes will be on Romalu Lukaku, the star forward for Belgium who has been recovering from a hamstring injury, to see if he can play and play well. He came on as a substitute in the squad's second game for his first action of the tournament. He'll start Thursday's game on the bench too, but figures to be an important substitute.

Belgium, currently third in Group F, faces Croatia, which stands atop the group. A win for Croatia puts them in the second round and officially eliminates Belgium. A win for Belgium would also put them through. A draw and it gets more complicated, with Morocco also in contention.

Morocco is facing off with Canada, which is unfortunately already eliminated from advancing to the knockout stage in its first World Cup appearance since 1986. At 0-2, the country would still like to get its first World Cup victory ever. Morocco would clinch a spot in the second round with a win. If both matches end in a draw, then Croatia and Morocco would go through to the knockout stage.

The second slate of games Thursday features longtime soccer power Germany fighting to stay alive. The country sits last in Group E with just 1 point. They'll need to beat heavy underdog Costa Rica just to have a chance to advance. If Germany wins and Spain beats Japan, Germany would get through.

Spain or Japan would advance with a win as they play each other. Spain would also advance with a draw, but Japan would only advance with a draw if Germany loses or ties or Germany wins and Japan has the better goal differential.

Here's the schedule for Thursday: