England’s World Cup campaign faltered somewhat as they were held to a goalless draw by Ghana in Boston. After an impressive 4-2 defeat of Croatia in their tournament opener, fans were rightly optimistic, but there was no sign of last week’s free-scoring football as the Three Lions journeyed from Texas to Massachusetts.
They appeared bereft of energy and creativity facing a hugely defensive Ghana side, who had most men behind the ball at all times and did not record a shot until the 50th minute. The match came to a head late on as Bukayo Saka drew a smart save from Benjamin Asare before Nico O’Reilly hit the bar and Harry Kane shot over from close range. Marc Guehi later saw a headed effort cleared off the line, compounding a frustrating afternoon.
It was been widely pondered who will score the goals for England when Kane is not firing, and his anonymous performance today will give Tuchel plenty of food for thought ahead of this weekend’s meeting with Panama. Catch up with the action from England vs Ghana as it happened below, with expert insight and analysis from Standard Sport’s Dom Smith at Boston Stadium.
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Three things we learned from England 0-0 Ghana
More from Dom Smith at Boston Stadium as he delivers three key talking points from England vs Ghana.
He reflects on second-game syndrome, why England’s attack faltered, and one silver lining Thomas Tuchel can take away.
England player ratings vs Ghana: Anderson impresses as Kane poor
Standard Sport’s England correspondent Dom Smith was at the Boston Stadium today, for his sins, and has rated the performances of the England squad after that turgid draw.
MATCH REPORT: England 0-0 Ghana
Thomas Tuchel’s stilted side stumbled to a 0-0 draw with well-drilled Ghana as England edged closer to the World Cup knockout phase in forgettable fashion.
Six days on from the thrilling 4-2 victory against Croatia in Texas, things fell flat in Foxborough as the back-to-back European Championship runners-up failed to break down the Black Stars.
England were a far cry from the swashbuckling side that thrilled in their Group L opener, with Tuchel’s team unable to find a way through Carlos Queiroz’s organised outfit as Harry Kane missed their best chance late on.
FULL-TIME: England 0-0 Ghana
That does it! The spoils are shared.
England 0-0 Ghana
90+5mins: Ghana are throwing Baba Rahman into the mix for the last few minutes.
England 0-0 Ghana
90+3mins: It just isn’t happening for England today. Guehi sees his header cleared off the goalline!
England 0-0 Ghana
90+3mins: A driving run from Rogers earns one more corner for England. Not that that means much - the set-pieces have left a lot to be desired today.
England 0-0 Ghana
90+2mins: Rice’s corner flashes over the box untouched and goes out for a goal kick.
England 0-0 Ghana
90mins: Saka sends a cross in search of Rashford at the back post, but it is put behind for a corner. We are into six minutes of added time.
England 0-0 Ghana
86mins: HUGE SAVE! Asare gets down quickly to deny what would have been a certain winner from Saka.
On the follow-up, O’Reilly hits the bar before Kane fires over from close range! Nightmare!