Harry Kane squandered a crucial opportunity late in the match as England saw their World Cup hopes dampened with a goalless draw against Ghana at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts, on Tuesday.
Previously, England had established themselves as one of the tournament favorites with a convincing 4-2 victory over Croatia. However, they struggled to break down a Ghana team ranked 65th by FIFA, marking the lowest-ranking opponent England has faced in a major tournament in three decades.
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Thomas Tuchel’s squad could have secured a spot in the knockout stage with a win, a scenario that seemed plausible when Kane found himself in a prime position after a header from Nico O’Reilly hit the crossbar in the 86th minute.
“They defended with determination and discipline,” Tuchel remarked, noting that Kane “wasn’t as involved as we’d hoped, but the space was so tight.”
“It was challenging to create opportunities. The few chances he had just didn’t go our way,” he added.
Unfortunately for England, their all-time leading scorer, who netted twice against Croatia, misfired above the crossbar, clearly frustrated as he held his head in his hands.
Despite having 19 shots to Ghana’s single attempt and controlling 79% of possession—the highest for a World Cup team that didn’t score in the last 60 years—England failed to convert their dominance into goals.
“Games like this happen,” Kane told the BBC. “I was looking for a chance like that and it finally came my way. As a striker, you wait for the ball to fall into your path, but I couldn’t get over it.”
“I usually would back myself to score in that situation, but sometimes it just doesn’t happen, and I have to accept that,” he acknowledged.
Ghana celebrated the final whistle, earning four points from two matches and positioning themselves favorably to reach the knockout round for the first time since their quarterfinal run in 2010. Their coach, Carlos Queiroz, praised his team for executing their strategy perfectly.
“Our goal was to disrupt and frustrate them from the start, and we succeeded,” Queiroz stated.
England, also well-positioned to advance to the round of 32, will take on Panama in their final group stage match on Saturday, while Ghana will face Croatia at the same time.
Ghana’s best opportunity arose in the 78th minute when Abdul Fatawu outmuscled England’s Eberechi Eze to charge down the sideline. He passed to Prince Adu, but Adu was tackled by Ezri Konsa before he could shoot, despite Adu calling for a foul in vain.
In the first half, although England dominated possession at 60%, they managed only five shots on goal, with Kane having a critical miss just before halftime.
“I felt frustrated with how they defended and set up,” England midfielder Jude Bellingham remarked. “They achieved exactly what they aimed for, and we struggled to break them down despite all our corners, possession, and shots from afar.”
Ghana stepped up their intensity in the second half, with a chance arising in the 50th minute when Marvin Senaya managed a touch in the box, but his attempt was blocked by the English defense.
“We aimed for the win, but we’ll take the point, and we’re still in a good position within the group,” Kane concluded.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.