England were frustrated by a stubborn Ghana defence as they drew 0-0 in their second match of the 2026 World Cup.
After a 4-2 win over Croatia in the opening match, there was confidence that England would be able to book their place into the knockout stages with a game to spare.
But Ghana defended in a deep block and England, despite having as much as 78% of possession throughout the whole match, did not have a shot on target until the second half and drew the second match for the fourth successive major tournament.
Nico O'Reilly hit the crossbar with a header in the final five minutes and the normally clinical Harry Kane blew his lines on the rebound when blazing over the bar in England's two best chances.
Thomas Tuchel's men can count themselves lucky too, with Ezri Konsa lucky not to concede a penalty when he seemingly took out Prince Kwabena Adu in the penalty area.
England do still remain top of the group on four points, with Croatia and Panama to play later this evening and both on zero points after one game.
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England lack fast start
Six days ago, when England finally got their World Cup campaign under way against tournament nemesis Croatia, Thomas Tuchel's men started fast and were a goal up just 12 minutes in.
Fast forward to the Three Lions' second match, and England could not muster the same speedy start against a side ranked 60 places below them.
They had all the possession and large chunks of territory too, with notable efforts to get the ball wide, in particular to Noni Madueke, who was a clear target throughout the first half.
It was the Arsenal winger who was involved in England's biggest chance of the half, finding former club teammate Reece James in space in the box and the right back played in a dangerous pass which was well cleared.
But beyond that, it was far more static than against Croatia, partly down to Ghana's excellent defensive resoluteness and low block, but it did also bring back memories of old from an England perspective.
Despite all of that possession, England managed just 14 touches in Ghana's box and not a single shot on target.
There was also a clear lack of incisive passing and as a result England's chance creation was far lower than it was a week ago.
Fans both in the United States and back home will hope this was merely a blip, but after all the praise of last week, this was very much England brought back down to earth, at least initially.
England subs again make impact but to no avail
Tuchel was widely praised for his substitutions against Croatia and rightly so, as they came on and made a major impact.
Against Ghana, it was more of the same from Tuchel, who saw Bukayo Saka and O'Reilly have two of England's best three chances after coming off the bench.
Marcus Rashford and Morgan Rogers were also more direct, while Eberechi Eze coming on for Elliot Anderson showed England's desire to attack.
Last week, we saw Rashford score, assisted by Saka, for England's fourth goal to put the game to bed.
This week, there was no winning goal, but in the final 10 minutes, England were far more direct and that is without a doubt a good sign looking at the knockout stages -- Tuchel is prepared to make bold, attacking subs and while it did not make a difference on the scoresheet, it was a rare positive on an otherwise fairly turgid night from the Three Lions' perspective.
Team Lineups
England: (4-2-3-1) Pickford; Spence (O'Reilly 66), Guehi, Konsa, James; Rice, Anderson (Eze 74); Gordon (Saka 66), Bellingham (Rogers 74), Madueke (Rashford 84); Kane
Unused substitutes: Trafford, D Henderson, Stones, Quansah, Burn, Chalobah, J Henderson, Mainoo, Toney, Watkins
Ghana: (4-5-1) Asare; Mensah, Opoku, Adjetey, Senaya (Oppong 87); Partey; Semenyo, Sibo, Yirenkyi, Williams (Fatawu 66); Ayew (Adu 66) (Baba 95)
Unused substitutes: Zigi, Anang, Luckassen, Seidu, Mumin, Baah, Owusu, Thomas-Asante, Boakye, Sulemana, Nuamah
Snapshot: Framing the drama
Key stats
- England: remains in first place in Group L with 4 pts over 2nd-place Ghana (4 pts) on GD; neither has clinched a KO Stage berth
- This result mean that the loser (if there is one) of tonight's Panama-Croatia match will be eliminated from R32 contention
- England: 12-game competitive winning streak snapped; first time it fails to win a competitive match since Oct. 2024 vs Greece
- Ghana: avoided defeat in its opening two games at a FIFA World Cup for the second time since 2010 when it reached the Quarterfinals
- England: out-possessed Ghana 79%-21% and out-shot Ghana 19-2, however only had a 3-1 edge in shots on goal
- England: 79% possession, highest by any team that failed to score in a match in the last 60 years at the FIFA World Cup
- Ghana: 2 shots are the joint-lowest of any team in a game at the 2026 FIFA World Cup, and the fewest England conceded in a game in the last 60 years at the FIFA World Cup
- England: 13th scoreless draw at FIFA World Cup, no other team has more than 9 in history (Brazil)
- England: extends unbeaten streak vs African teams at the FIFA World Cup to 9 games
- Jude Bellingham (ENG): 50th appearance for England; at 22 years and 359 day, he's the youngest Englishmen to reach this milestone for the national team
Information from ESPN's Global Sports Research contributed to this story.
