England made a successful start to the defence of their World Cup of Darts trophy with a 5-0 victory over Japan in Hamburg.

Phil Taylor and Adrian Lewis were never troubled by their Japanese opponents and they booked their place in the last 16 with a comfortable win.

Raymond van Barneveld and Michael van Gerwen didn't have it all their own way against Poland, but they held on to secure a 5-3 triumph for the Netherlands.

Australia and Scotland both won their opening matches with victories over Croatia and Canada respectively.

There were also wins for Northern Ireland, Republic of Ireland, Wales and Germany.