Match Report: England 0-0 Ghana
- D. Rice (41′)
- I. Williams (60′)
The Three Lions held in Boston during second FIFA World Cup 2026 group game
England v Ghana
Group L fixture
FIFA World Cup 2026
Tuesday 23 June 2026, 9pm BST
Boston Stadium
Ghana in profile
Nickname: The Black Stars
Coach: Carlos Quieroz
Captain: Jordan Ayew
Match Stats
- England and Ghana are facing each other at the FIFA World Cup for the first time. Their only previous encounter came in a March 2011 friendly at Wembley – the game ended 1-1, with goals from Andy Carroll and Asamoah Gyan.
- England are unbeaten against African teams at the FIFA World Cup – in their eight matches, they have won five and drawn three. This match will also represent England’s eighth different African opponent at the World Cup (after Morocco, Egypt, Cameroon, Tunisia, Nigeria, Algeria and Senegal), more than any other nation.
- This will be just the second time that England have played in Boston (USA) across their history, with their prior visit ending in a 2-0 friendly loss to the USA in June 1993 under Graham Taylor.
- Ghana have only won two of their group stage matches at the FIFA World Cup once before, beating Czechia and USA in 2006. They have failed to win any of their last four matches against European opposition in the competition, however (D1 L3), losing their last 2-3 against Portugal in 2022.
- After winning their opener 4-2 against Croatia, England will be looking to win each of their opening two games at a FIFA World Cup for the fourth time, after completing the feat in 1982, 2006 and 2018.
- Current Ghana boss Carlos Queiroz’s heaviest defeat as a head coach at the FIFA World Cup was against England in the 2022 group stages – his Iran side lost 6-2.
- Across the opening round of matchday one fixtures at the 2026 FIFA World Cup, only Germany (12) had more shots on target than England (eleven v Croatia). Excluding penalties, Thomas Tuchel’s side also had the highest xG (1.09) and most shots on target (5) from set piece situations of any side on MD1.
- England’s Harry Kane has netted five goals across his five international appearances against African nations, with three coming at the FIFA World Cup, against Tunisia in 2018 (two goals) and Senegal in 2022. If he scores in this game, he would overtake Gary Lineker (ten) to become Engand’s all-time top scorer in the competition.
- Ghana’s Jordan Ayew made the most high-intensity pressures of any striker on MD1 of the 2026 FIFA World Cup (69), as well as the most in the opposition half (56). In that same game versus Panama, Ayew also became the oldest Ghanaian ever to feature in a game in the competition (34y 280d).
- Elliot Anderson won possession more times than any other player in England 4-2 Croatia on MD1 (8). Indeed, Anderson has won possession an average of 9.6 times per 90 in his England career so far, more than twice as many as any other player during the Thomas Tuchel era (500+ minutes played).
- Jordan Pickford and John Stones could both make their 14th FIFA World Cup appearance for England in this match. Only Peter Shilton (17) has more in the competition for the men’s national team.
- Jude Bellingham could make his 50th appearance for England in this match – aged 22 years and 359 days on the day of the game, he’d be the youngest player in history to reach this milestone for the men’s national team.
Last time out: England 1-1 Ghana
A bumper crowd at Wembley saw the first ever meeting between the nations at senior level
Head to head
England and Ghana will meet for the first time in a competitive fixture at the FIFA World Cup 2026.
The only previous game between the nations at men’s senior level came back in 2011 at Wembley Stadium when an Andy Carroll goal in the first half saw England take the lead.
But a stoppage-time equaliser from former Sunderland striker Asamoah Gyan, a star of the 2010 World Cup, saw the Black Stars rescue a draw from an entertaining match in front of an 80,000-strong crowd including what was the largest away following for a national team.
England Squad News
Ticket Information
How to watch or stream
England v Ghana at the World Cup will be shown live on BBC One in the UK.
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Thomas Tuchel has made two changes to his England line-up for the Three Lions' second World Cup group stage game against Ghana.
The changes both come in defence from the team which started against Croatia in the opening game last Wednesday, with Marc Guéhi coming into central defence to replace John Stones while Djed Spence starts in place of Nico O'Reilly.
England go into the game in Boston looking to make it two wins from their two games so far, knowing that a victory will be enough to seal qualification for the Round of 32.
England: 1 Jordan Pickford, 2 Ezri Konsa, 4 Declan Rice, 6 Marc Guéhi, 8 Elliot Anderson, 9 Harry Kane (c), 10 Jude Bellingham, 18 Anthony Gordon, 20 Noni Madueke, 24 Reece James, 25 Djed Spence
Substitutes: 3 Nico O'Reilly, 5 John Stones, 7 Bukayo Saka, 11 Marcus Rashford, 13 Dean Henderson, 14 Jordan Henderson, 15 Dan Burn, 16 Kobbie Mainoo, 17 Morgan Rogers, 19 Ollie Watkins, 21 Eberechi Eze, 22 Ivan Toney, 23 James Trafford, 26 Jarell Quansah
The Three Lions survived a few bright moments from the Ghanaians to dominate large portions of the game, but spurned their best chances through Nico O’Reilly and Harry Kane late on.
The point leaves England top of Group L, level on points with Ghana, who won their opening game against England’s final group stage opponents Panama.
England’s first real attempt came when Declan Rice’s long-range free-kick flew over the bar 13 minutes in as England began to turn the screw, only for Jordan Ayew and Reece James’ head-on-head collision and the subsequent hydration break to take the sting out of the game.
With half time looming, Kane had his first sight of goal, but was denied by two Ghanaian defenders.
After the break, Marvin Senaya latched onto a lofted cross-field ball and momentarily appeared in on goal before Djed Spence’s recovery run, but the ball rarely found itself beyond either defensive line.
A neat England move culminated in Madueke’s deflected shot, before Anthony Gordon’s effort dropped just in front of Benjamin Asare in the Ghana goal.
Ghana substitute Prince Kwabena Adu gave England a scare as he bore down on goal, but the referee awarded Jordan Pickford a free-kick to ease the nerves.
Soon after, Kane was finally able to trouble Asare, but his left-footed shot from the edge of the box lacked the requisite pace. Substitute Bukayo Saka nodded over after Madueke was transferred to the left wing, but just as England were turning up the heat, the second hydration break struck.
As England searched for the opener, Saka swept the ball towards the corner but was denied by an impressive Asare. Then came the golden chance.
O’Reilly thundered a delicious cross against the underside of the crossbar and Kane fired the rebound over the bar, leaving the Boston crowd gasping, but England disappointed.
In the 93rd minute, Marc Guehi thought he might have found the breakthrough, but his header was flicked off the line from one of a string of corners.
Substitutes: 7 Bukayo Saka for Gordon 65’, 3 Nico O’Reilly for Djed Spence 65’, 17 Morgan Rogers for Bellingham 74’, 21 Eberechi Eze for Anderson 74’, 11 Marcus Rashford for Madueke 83’
Subs not used: 13 Dean Henderson, 23 James Trafford, 15 Dan Burn, 26 Jarell Quansah, 5 John Stones, 12 Trevoh Chalobah, 14 Jordan Henderson, 16 Kobbie Mainoo, 19 Ollie Watkins, 22 Ivan Toney
Head Coach: Thomas Tuchel
Ghana: 16 Benjamin Asare, 3 Caleb Yirenkyi, 26 Marvin Senaya, 4 Jonas Adjetey, 18 Jerome Opoku, 14 Gideon Mensah, 11 Antoine Semenyo, 8 Kwasi Sibo, 5 Thomas Partey, 9 Jordan Ayew, 19 Inaki Williams
Substitutes: 7 Abdul Fatawu for Williams 66’, 25 Prince Kwabena Adu for Ayew 66’, 21 Kojo Peprah Oppong for Senaya 87’, 17 Abdul Baba Rahman for Adu 95’
Subs not used: 1 Lawrence Ati Zigi, 2 Alidu Seidu, 6 Abdul Mumin, 10 Brandon Thomas-Asante, 12 Joseph Anang, 13 Christopher Bonsu Baah, 15 Elisha Owusu, 20 Augustine Boakye, 22 Kamaldeen Sulemana, 23 Derrick Luckassen, 24 Ernest Nuamah
Head Coach: Carlos Queiroz
Goals: N/A