FIFA World Cup

ENG England England - GHA Ghana Ghana

England England

Ghana Ghana

Boston Stadium(63,983 Spectators)

Hector Said Martinez Sorto

Full time: England 0-0 Ghana

It ends all square in Boston. England were the dominant side but credit must go to Ghana for their defensive strength and tactical discipline throughout. The teams remain in lockstep on four points in Group L, leaving both well placed to go through to the round of 32.

End of second half

Full-time

90'

+ 5

Substitution

Baba Rahman

Prince Adu

90'

+ 5

Constant pressure

England are pushing for a winner here. Ghana can't get out of their own half, and barely their own box.

90'

+ 4

Off the line!

Guehi's header following a corner is cleared off the line at the back post!

90'

+ 1

One-sided

You'd have expected England to have put away one of their chances. They've had some good ones in this second half.

Goal attempts

14off target

3on target

1off target

0on target

Crossbar and over!

O'Reilly wins a header at the back post but it crashes off the bar. The rebound falls straight to Kane, on the six-yard box, but he skews his left-footed effort over.

87'

Substitution

Kojo Peprah Oppong

Marvin Senaya

84'

Last throw of the dice

England make their final substitution as Rashford comes on for Madueke, who had a decent game.

83'

Substitution

Marcus Rashford

Noni Madueke

82'

Rarity in store?

England have only failed to score once in their last 25 internationals, a 1-0 defeat by Japan in March this year.

80'

Chance for Ghana!

Eze loses the ball cheaply down the England left and Ghana break forward. Senaya gets in behind the defence and goes down under pressure from Konsa inside the box, but he still gets a shot away while on the ground. It's going towards goal but hits his own player - Semenyo - before England clear.

78'

Scrappy

The game has been interrupted in the last few minutes by lots of niggly fouls.

75'

More changes

Tuchel makes two more substitutions, freshening up the attack with Eze and Rogers.

74'

Substitution

Morgan Rogers

Jude Bellingham

74'

Substitution

Eberechi Eze

Elliot Anderson

72'

Break in play

The second and final hydration break is upon us.

71'

Over from Saka!

Mudueke, now on the left wing after Saka's introduction, takes on his man and gets to the byline. His cross to the back post finds Saka, but he heads over.

69'

It opens up for Kane!

Ghana try to play the ball out from the back but lose possession cheaply. It comes to Kane just outside the box, but his left-footed strike lacks both the power and precision to beat the goalkeeper.

Almost in!

Prince Adu, only just on the field, chases a clever through-ball. There's a collision with Pickford, but the referee awards a free-kick to England.

67'

Substitution

Prince Adu

Jordan Ayew

66'

Substitution

Abdul Fatawu

Iñaki Williams

66'

Substitution

Nico O'Reilly

Djed Spence

65'

Substitution

Bukayo Saka

Anthony Gordon

65'

Subs coming

Both teams are preparing to make some changes.

64'

Over from Madueke

Rice's initial delivery is cleared but England keep possession and work it via Gordon to Madueke, whose curling effort goes high and wide of the target.

63'

Another free-kick

Kane is fouled this time, left of centre and 25 yards from goal...

61'

Free-kick to England

Williams brings down Gordon wide on the left and England have a set piece in a dangerous position. Rice whips it to the back posts and finds Anderson, but his powerful header is blocked.

60'

Yellow card

Iñaki Williams

Best chances of the game!

England finally find some space in the final third and a series of quick passes frees up Madueke to shoot. It's blocked but the Three Lions go again, and Gordon has space to get a shot away but it's straight at the goalkeeper.

57'

Telling statistic

xGoals

The xGoals value of a club is calculated from the sum of all goal probabilities (goals and shots on goal) of that team. During a match, it’s easy to see whether the club is performing better than expected (goals > xGoals) - or maybe even higher (xGoals > goals).

Defences have been very much on top in this one.

xGoals

0.53

0.14

Goals

Celebrity spectator

Former England international David Beckham is in the crowd for this one.

53'

Bolder approach

Having sat back for most of the first half, Ghana are trying things a bit more now and are forcing England to defend more.

50'

Chance for Ghana!

Senaya gets in behind Gordon and beats him to a long, diagonal pass. He's got a clear sight of goal but, under pressure from Spence, he can't hit the target.

49'

Superb from Bellingham

Semenyo finds space for seemingly the first time all game. He's tracked by Bellingham though, and the former Dortmund man dispossesses him with a brilliant sliding tackle.

48'

Same rhythm

The second half has slipped into the same pattern as the first, with England dominating the ball but struggling to make headway against a well-drilled Ghana side.

46'

Underway once more

Ghana get the second half up and running.

Kick-off!

Half-time: England 0-0 Ghana

The Three Lions had more of the ball and played almost exclusively in the Ghana half but were unable to create any clear-cut openings against a packed rearguard. The Black Stars have shown precious little getting forward.

Half-time

45'

+ 4

First glimpse for Kane

A quick attack from England culminates in Rice sliding a pass into Kane. He shifts his feet well and gets a shot away, but once again there are too many Ghana players in the way, and it goes out for a corner.

45'

+ 1

Added time

There will be six additional minutes.

45'

First corner

Ayew and Semenyo do well down the Ghana left in their first period of sustained pressure. They win a corner, but it's headed clear.

43'

First booking

Rice is shown the first yellow card of the game for arriving late into a tackle.

41'

Yellow card

Declan Rice

39'

One-way traffic

But nothing to show for it.

Goal attempts

5off target

0on target

0off target

0on target

38'

More good work from Madueke

He takes on his marker down the right, gets to the byline and dinks a right-footed cross to the back post. Rice arrives and wins the header, but can only send his effort over the bar.

36'

Set piece needed?

England have been camped out in Ghana's half for the majority of the game, but there's so little space to work in and no room for runs in behind. Perhaps a free-kick or corner might be the way for the breakthrough to come.

Bellingham blocked

Madueke tries to take on a couple of defenders and the ball squirms out to Bellingham on the edge of the box. He gets a shot away but two defenders throw themselves in front of it.

33'

Rare foray forward

Ghana win a free-kick wide on the left, close to the halfway line. They send plenty of bodies forward in a bid to crowd the box, but Guehi wins the header and is fouled in the process.

30'

And we're back

The ball is rolling once more.

26'

Hydration break

Three minutes for the players to take on some fluids and receive tactical tweaks from their coaches.

24'

Treatment

James and Ayew are both on the field receiving medical treatment after a clash of heads.

Relentless pressure

Ghana have struggled to make it out of their half yet. England have had considerably more possession and chances, albeit without carving out any clear-cut opportunities.

17'

And again!

Spence runs into space down the left and cuts it back to Rice, but his shot is blocked.

16'

More good work from Rice

The midfielder wins the ball well on the left and cuts it back for Gordon. He shifts it on to Anderson, whose shot is blocked.

14'

Over from Rice

Gordon wins a free-kick in a central position, around 25 yards from goal. James nudges it to Rice, whose rasping drive arrows just over the bar.

12'

Almost!

Madueke slides a ball inside to James, darting into the Ghana box down the right. He squares it into the middle, but can only find a Ghana foot.

10'

Neat but no end product

A driving run forward from Rice and some neat one-touch passing around the edge of the box involving Kane and Bellingham, but Ghana get enough bodies back to crowd them out.

Closely watched

Ghana have - no big surprises here - identified Bellingham and Kane as the key players for England, and are closing them down instantly whenever they get near the ball.

Easily cleared

Rice's delivery is poor and doesn't make it past the first defender, who heads the ball clear.

Promising position

Madueke is fouled on the right, a little way outside the box. It's prime location for Rice to swing one in...

Early days...

...but still noteworthy that Ghana have only had two touches of the ball so far.

Passes

Sitting back

Despite the mild temperatures, Ghana aren't pressing high here. Instead, they're sitting back deep inside their own half and inviting England to break them down.

Here we go!

England get the ball rolling!

Kick-off!

Out on the pitch

The players are out of the tunnel and lining up ready for the national anthems. We'll be up and running very soon.

The stakes

Nice and simple: whoever wins this one will book their spot in the round of 32 with a game to spare.

English weather in Boston

It'll likely feel more like home for the Three Lions given the clouds and the rain...

Game face on

Bayern's Kane looks up for this one...

More on that Ghana team

Head coach Carlos Quieroz has likewise reshuffled his side in two positions after edging Panama 1-0 last week. Thomas Partey comes into the side, having been barred from entering Canada for that match in Toronto, with Elisha Owusu dropping to the bench. The other change is in goal; Lawrence Ati Zigi was taken off at half-time with a thigh complaint against Panama, so Benjamin Asare is between the sticks today.

More on that England team

Tuchel has made two changes to the side that beat Croatia last week, with Manchester City duo John Stones and Nico O'Reilly dropping to the bench, with Marc Guehi coming in at centre-back and Djed Spence at full-back. Jude Bellingham (pictured) keeps his spot in attacking midfield, just behind Harry Kane.

Starting line-up: England

Formation:4-2-3-1

England subs

Henderson, Trafford, O'Reilly, Stones, Chalobah, Burn, Quansah, Henderson, Mainoo, Rogers, Eze, Saka, Rashford, Watkins, Toney

Starting line-up: Ghana

Formation:5-4-1

Ghana subs

Zigi, Anang, Seidu, Mumin, Rahman, Oppong, Luckassen, Owusu, Boakye, Fatawu, Thomas-Asante, Baah, Sulemana, Nuamah, Adu

Declan Rice lauds Kane

Arsenal midfield and Kane's England teammate Rice showered the striker in praise ahead of the Ghana encounter. "For me, he is one of those players you'll be telling the kids when you're older that you got to play with Harry Kane. For me, that's how good he is. He's one of those players. I'm very fortunate. One, he's our captain, but two: how he leads by example every day, how he pushes in training. It is not a surprise to me how good he is just because of the goals he scores in training, what he's been doing at Bayern Munich, what he's been doing in an England shirt. It has been an honour to play with him. I'm very lucky that I get to play with a striker like him."

Last time out: England

England turned on the style with some impressive goals in a 4-2 win over Croatia in Dallas, with Bayern's Harry Kane netting a brace - an opener from the penalty spot and a thunderous header.

Last time out: Ghana

Wolfsburg's Jonas Adjetey played the full 90 minutes and kept a clean sheet as Ghana eked out a vital 1-0 win over Panama in a tight Group L opener.

Welcome!

Follow all of the action as England take on Ghana in Group L of the FIFA World Cup 2026, with the game kicking off at 9pm CEST in Boston.