Ghana hold England to goalless World Cup draw, both near last 16

Pre-match expectations

Carlos Queiroz, at 73 the oldest coach to win a World Cup match after Ghana’s opening 1-0 victory over Panama, urged his side to "suffer, make sacrifices and pay the price" ahead of facing England. Thomas Tuchel’s team came off a 4-2 win over Croatia and were expected to confirm group leadership.

“These are the easiest games to motivate the players. We have to suffer. We have to be prepared to make sacrifices and be willing to pay the price, because a win in this World Cup is very expensive.”

A locked-down first half

At the Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Ghana sat deep in a compact 5-4-1 block, ceding 90% possession to England in the early going. The "Black Stars" were disciplined and physical, limiting the Three Lions to harmless crosses and no shots on target in the opening 45 minutes. Declan Rice picked up the only booking of the period, a yellow card in the 41st minute for a foul.

Second-half flickers

After the break, Ghana grew bolder. In the 50th minute, a long pass from Jerome Opoku released Marvin Senaya inside the box, but he skewed his shot wide under pressure. England finally forced Benjamin Asare into action after the 80th minute: Bukayo Saka tested the goalkeeper, Nico O’Reilly’s header crashed against the post, and Harry Kane blazed the rebound over the bar, all within 60 seconds. Soon after, Prince Kwabena Adu’s shot from a Ghana counter-attack was inadvertently blocked by teammate Antoine Semenyo with Jordan Pickford beaten.

Group L reckoning

The draw leaves England and Ghana level on four points after two matches, virtually guaranteeing both a place in the round of 16. They sit atop Group L, with Croatia and Panama each on zero points heading into the final round of group fixtures.

“We must play with discipline and concentration, looking for our way to win. We will make changes, but I am convinced the team that starts will be strong, motivated and confident. One of the teams on the pitch is a strong candidate to win the World Cup. They deserve respect, but we are not going to run away from our dreams or our responsibilities: we want to win.”