Ghana Holds England to Surprise Scoreless Draw in World Cup

Harry Kane, Jude Bellingham, and the rest of England’s starting 11 were held goalless after their 90-minute World Cup match with Ghana on June 23.

The 0–0 draw manifested in Foxborough, Massachusetts, in front of what was essentially a home crowd for the Three Lions. A win for either team would have come with a spot in the first knockout round. Now they both leave the pitch with their fate left to yet another match.

England held control of the ball for nearly 80 percent of the game, and significantly outshot their opponents 19–2. They had 32 touches in their opponent’s penalty area. But the Three Lions appeared to be ultimately out-muscled by Ghana’s defense.

The Black Stars blocked six shots, intercepted a vast majority of England’s cross passes in front of their goal, and shut down all nine corner kicks. But the West African team also accumulated 24 fouls in the game, including one yellow card. England, by comparison, drew 14 fouls, including one yellow card.

Ghana’s defensive tactic is known in the soccer world as “parking the bus.” It is an extremely defensive approach to the game in which most—if not all—of a team’s players remain behind the ball, prioritizing preventing the opponent’s goals over securing their own.

England ultimately got three shots on goal, including one from Kane, the team’s captain. But goalkeeper Benjamin Asare stopped them all.

After the game, Kane told Fox Sports that he felt like his team did enough to win the game, but “did not have enough moments” to bring a win to fruition.

Meanwhile, up-front pressure from England’s goalkeeper Jordan Pickford kept Ghana away from his net, and he secured his latest clean sheet without having to make a single save.

A clean sheet is the name for what other sports call a shutout, and it goes on the goalkeeper’s resume whether his team wins or draws.

This particular draw means that England and Ghana remain tied in terms of group stage record. Both now have four points after earning one win and one draw. England remains at the top of the group only because the team has a higher net positive goal differential than Ghana.

The other two teams in their group, Panama and Croatia, faced off in Toronto later the same day. A loss for either team means elimination from the tournament.

England will face Panama in the third and final match of the group stage at 5 p.m. ET on June 27 outside New York City. At the same time, Ghana will face off against Croatia in Philadelphia.