The England national team was quickly grounded after a roaring start to the World Cup, reported BBC Sport.
Thomas Tuchel's team failed to break down Ghana's well-organised defence and the Group L match at the “Gillet“ stadium ended in a disappointing 0-0 draw.
Although the “Three Lions“ controlled the events on the pitch for a large part of the match and registered a record 79% possession of the ball, they never found any resistance against the defensive block of the African team, led by the experienced Carlos Queiroz.
Historic drought in the first part
The first 45 minutes will be remembered as an absolute tactical competition, but also as an anti-record – this was the first match since the start of the 2026 World Cup in which neither team managed to land a precise shot on goal. The English exchanged hundreds of passes on the periphery, but captain Harry Kane remained completely isolated and without any useful action. On the other hand, Ghana did not look at Jordan Pickford's goal at all, concentrating all their strength on defense.
Bar and an incredible miss by Kane at the end
In the second half, Tuchel tried to sharpen the attack, bringing Bukayo Saka, Marcus Rashford and the young Nico O'Reilly into play. England's pressure intensified in the last 15 minutes, when the cleanest positions.
In the 86th minute, O'Reilly headed a cross, but the ball hit the crossbar of goalkeeper Benjamin Asare. In the subsequent extra time in front of an empty goal, Harry Kane did the unthinkable for his class, sending his volley high above the stands. In added time, a Ghana defender cleared the ball in front of the goal line after a corner.
The curse of the “second match“ for England continues
With this draw, England solidified their reputation as a team that regularly messes up in their second matches at major forums, after making similar moves at Euro 2020, World Cup 2022 and Euro 2024. The “Three Lions“ now have 13 goalless draws in their history at world finals - a record, which they are hardly proud of.
„They defended extremely deep and compactly, which forced us to play only on the flanks. We are disappointed, but we take the point and look forward“, said Harry Kane philosophically after the final whistle.
Ghana coach Carlos Queiroz did not hide his pride: „When the situation requires you to dance samba, you cannot play rock and roll. My players followed the plan until the last second and this point is a gift to all our people.“
After this match, England and Ghana have 4 points each and remain favorites to qualify for the knockout phase of the tournament. In the final group matches on Saturday, England face Panama, while Ghana will face Croatia.