England held to scoreless draw by stubborn Ghana

After an impressive 2-4 opening win over Croatia, England were expected to build momentum and clinch a place in the World Cup round of 32. Instead, Thomas Tuchel’s side were frustrated by Ghana and had to settle for a disappointing 0-0 draw at Boston Stadium on June 24, 2026, leaving qualification in Group 12 to the final round.

England controlled possession early against Ghana’s deep defensive block, but could not turn that control into clear chances. It took the Three Lions 57 minutes to register their first shot on target, and even that effort was stopped by the defense. At the other end, England again looked vulnerable in transition, with Ghana threatening regularly on the counterattack.

Tuchel turned to his bench in search of a breakthrough, bringing on Bukayo Saka, who has had his minutes carefully managed because of a stubborn Achilles problem, and replacing Jude Bellingham with Morgan Rogers. The changes injected some life into the attack. Saka forced a major save from Ghana goalkeeper Benjamin Asare, then delivered a superb cross to Nico O’Reilly, another substitute, whose powerful header hit the crossbar. Marc Guehi also came close, but his header was cleared off the line.

England remain top of Group 12, but they must take points against Panama in their final group match to secure advancement officially. Ghana, meanwhile, recorded a second straight clean sheet and showed again that they will be difficult to break down in this tournament.