England held by Ghana in goalless World Cup draw

England’s control brought no reward in Foxborough, where Ghana’s compact defending secured a 0-0 draw and left Group L tied on four points. The match at Boston Stadium, also known as Gillette Stadium, kept both sides in contention going into their final group fixtures on 27 June.

Thomas Tuchel’s side had arrived with momentum from a 4-2 win over Croatia on 17 June, when Harry Kane scored twice and Jude Bellingham and Marcus Rashford also found the net. Ghana had opened with a 1-0 victory over Panama on the same day, Caleb Yirenkyi’s stoppage-time goal settling that game and setting up a meeting between two teams that had already shown they could win in different ways.

Against Ghana, England had nearly four-fifths of the ball, were credited with about 79% possession and outshot their opponents 19-2, yet still failed to turn territory into a breakthrough. SofaScore’s match numbers put England’s expected goals at 1.28 to Ghana’s 0.29, but Carlos Queiroz’s team held its shape deep and denied England the space they enjoyed against Croatia. Queiroz, who has coached at five successive World Cups, set Ghana up to absorb pressure and break England’s rhythm with a disciplined low block.

England thought it had won it late. Nico O’Reilly struck the post and Kane sent the rebound over, then Kane missed another late chance as Ghana survived a frantic finish. The Black Stars also carried a threat of their own late on, forcing England to stay alert even after dominating the ball for long stretches.

The draw was England’s 13th goalless result at a World Cup. England remained top of the section on goal difference after the stalemate.