England fail to break down stubborn Ghana in 0-0 draw

England failed to find a way through a resolute Ghana side and had to settle for a 0-0 draw in their second World Cup Group L match on Tuesday, a result which left both sides well placed to move into the next phase but was a disappointment for Thomas Tuchel’s side after their opening 4-2 win over Croatia.

Ghana, who pulled off a last-gasp 1-0 victory over Panama in their opening match, made their intentions clear right from the kickoff as they lined up to blunt England’s attacking style.

Under a constant drizzle, the Three Lions had almost 80% of possession in the first half but were limited to half chances as Ghana players swarmed around England captain Harry Kane and anyone else on the few occasions they got into dangerous positions.

The opening 45 minutes were the first in any game at this World Cup in which neither side had a shot on target and one of the biggest cheers was for the sight of former England captain David Beckham watching the game in a suit and shown on the giant screens at the home of the New England Patriots NFL team near Boston.

Tuchel had said he expected Ghana to be well drilled by Carlos Queiroz, at his fifth World Cup as a coach and who has first-hand experience of English football from his two spells as assistant manager at Manchester United.

“DEEP DEEP DEEP”

England assistant coach Anthony Barry said at halftime that Ghana were defending “deep, deep, deep, probably deeper than we expected” and England needed to be patient.

Tuchel sought to break the deadlock by introducing Bukayo Saka and Nico O’Reilly in the 65th minute followed by Morgan Rogers and Eberechi Eze less than 10 minutes later and finally throwing on Marcus Rashford.

Ghana, who scored in the dying seconds against Panama, threatened to hit England on the break through the pace of Antoine Semenyo and substitute Prince Kwabena Adu.

But it was England who spurned the best chance of the game in the 86th minute when O’Reilly headed against the bar and Kane blasted the rebound over.

“I just couldn’t quite get over the ball,” Kane said. “But, yeah, I’m backing myself to score that more often than not. So, it is what it is. I’ve been a striker long enough to know they don’t always go in, so I have to accept it.”

Ghana coach Queiroz praised his team for sticking to his strategy for frustrating England.

“I am so proud, the way our players they fought during the game, how much they stand behind the game plan,” the Portuguese veteran said.

The result represented the fourth time in a row at major competitions, two European Championships and now two World Cups, that England have drawn their second group game.

Croatia push past Panama 1-0, remain third

Halftime substitute Ante Budimir scored in the 54th minute and Croatia eliminated Panama from World Cup contention with a tightly fought 1-0 victory in a Group L clash at Toronto on Tuesday.

It was the first World Cup goal for Budimir, 34, and fifth in a competitive fixture for his country, all of those coming since 2023.

Croatia (1-1-0, 3 points) remain third in the group heading into the final matchday, but they can guarantee a top-two finish with a victory over Ghana in their final match on Saturday in Philadelphia.

Panama (0-2-0, 0 points) are still seeking their first point five matches into their World Cup history, having also lost 1-0 to Ghana in their 2026 opener in Toronto last week.

However, despite playing the first two matches without injured talisman Adalberto Carrasquilla, Los Canaleros have a goal differential six better than at this stage in their first World Cup appearance in 2018.

Budimir put Croatia in front on what was easily their best attack of the match to that point.

Josip Stanisic combined with Marco Pasalic to get down the right, then struck a well-weighted cross to the top of the 6-yard box.

Panama goalkeeper Orlando Mosquera dove to try and intercept the service but couldn’t reach it, and Budimir showed up at the back post to guide in a composed finish into an open goal.

With that, the match erupted for about 15 minutes.

Three minutes after the goal, Croatia captain Luka Modric played Pasalic in alone on goal from his own half. Mosquera sized up Pasalic and charged from his line at the right time to smother the initial attempt, and Pasalic fired wide from a poor angle on the rebound.

Panama responded to force Dominik Livakovic into three stops inside of a minute. The third was probably the best, as Livakovic leaped to deny Carlos Harvey’s header from a corner lofted to the back post.

The second-half hydration break followed that sequence, and perhaps disrupted Panama’s momentum, with Livakovic unthreatened in the final stages.

The Central Americans will now look to play spoilers against England in their finale Saturday in East Rutherford, N.J. Earlier Tuesday, England (1-0-1, 4 points) settled for a 0-0 draw with Ghana (1-0-1, 4 points).