Reliving England's World Cup meetings with African nations

England's World Cup history against African nations stretches back almost 40 years and has produced some memorable moments along the way.

The Three Lions have never lost to African opposition at the tournament, recording five wins and three draws from eight matches. During that run, England have scored eleven goals, conceded just three and kept six clean sheets.

With Ghana next up at the FIFA World Cup 2026 on Tuesday 23 June (9pm BST), we take a look back at some of England's most memorable World Cup meetings with African nations.

England 3-2 Cameroon (1990)

One of the most dramatic matches in England's FIFA World Cup history came against Cameroon in the quarter-finals of Italia '90.

Bobby Robson's side looked to be in control when David Platt opened the scoring in Naples after 25 minutes. But Cameroon, inspired by Roger Milla, produced a remarkable response and scored twice in the second half to move within touching distance of a famous upset.

With England facing elimination, Gary Lineker stepped up to convert a penalty and force extra time before winning and scoring another spot-kick to send the Three Lions through to the semi-finals.

It remains one of the most memorable knockout victories in England's World Cup history and one of the closest encounters the Three Lions have had against African opposition.

England 2-1 Tunisia (2018)

England's opening match at the 2018 World Cup delivered a moment that many supporters still remember fondly.

Harry Kane gave Gareth Southgate's side an early lead in Volgograd, only for Tunisia to equalise from the penalty spot before half time.

As the clock ticked into stoppage time, England continued to push for a winner and found it through their captain, who powered home a dramatic header to seal all three points.

Reflecting on the goal in episode eight of Lions' Den connected by EE, Kane said: "I think just the goal itself, the way it turned the whole tournament. I feel like the positivity after that game, we took that into the next game and we kind of rolled that way for the rest of the tournament.

"I feel like that was a bit of a turning point in this generation of tournaments and also just the header itself, was a really tough header. The ball had no pace on it, it was kind of spinning in a strange direction and I had to really use my full body power to direct it in.

"It's one of my favourites for sure."

England would go on to reach the semi-finals in Russia, with Kane finishing as the tournament's Golden Boot winner.

Ironically, England's opening game at the 1998 World Cup in France also came against Tunisia when goals from Alan Shearer and Paul Scholes sealed a 2-0 win in Marseille for Glenn Hoddle's team. 

England 3-0 Senegal (2022)

England's most recent World Cup meeting with African opposition came in the round of 16 at Qatar 2022.

After a competitive opening half-hour, Jordan Henderson broke the deadlock before Kane doubled the lead on the stroke of half time.

Bukayo Saka added a third after the break to complete an impressive 3-0 victory and secure England's place in the quarter-finals.

It was England's biggest World Cup win against an African nation and another standout moment in the team's recent tournament history.

England's unbeaten World Cup record against African opposition now spans eight matches, which also includes fixtures against Morocco (0-0 in 1986), Egypt (1-0 in 1990), Nigeria (0-0 in 2002) and Algeria (0-0 in 2010).

Against Ghana, the Three Lions will be looking to add another positive chapter to that story.