After a brilliant 4-2 victory over Croatia in their debut, England found themselves halted in their progress at the World Cup, with nothing more than a dismal 0-0 against Ghana. The game took place in Foxborough and represented the first false step for the team coached by Thomas Tuchel, who failed to find space against an organized and compact African team.
The first half started with England dominating possession. After 10 minutes, Ghana retreated to their own half of the field as England tried to take control of the game. Two minutes later, Madueke made a play for James, whose low cross was cleared by the opposition defense. In the 13th minute, Rice attempted a long shot from a free kick, but the ball went over the goal. After a hydration break and a long interruption due to a collision between James and Ayew, the match was blocked. Madueke and Rice created the best opportunity in the 37th minute, with a header from Rice that ended over the bar. At the end of the first half, Ghana had their first attempt with Semenyo, which was blocked by the English defense, while Kane almost gave England the lead in added time, but the defense resisted again.
The second half followed the same pattern. Gordon had the first shot on goal in the 58th minute, forcing Asare into a save, while Madueke wasted a clear opportunity shortly afterwards. Tuchel made several substitutions, placing Saka, O'Reilly, Rogers and Eze on the field to increase offensive power, but the change did not bring results. In fact, in the 79th minute, Ghana had a great opportunity to score with Adu, who missed the goal, being stopped first by himself and then by Semenyo.
In the final minutes, England came very close to scoring with Saka, who had a shot that went close to the goal. O'Reilly even had a shot that hit the post, and Kane saw his shot from the rebound go over the goal. The game ended goalless, a draw that interrupted the enthusiasm of the English team and left discussions about qualification open.