England 0-0 Ghana: Three Lions left frustrated by strong Black Stars defence | OneFootball

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England were left frustrated by Ghana in their second match of this year’s World Cup, as they failed to break down the defence and were held to a 0-0 draw by The Black Stars.

The Three Lions only regsitered three shots on target throughout the game, despite having the vast majority of the ball, leaving Benjamin Asare with the little to do in the Ghana goal. England’s best chance of the match fell to Harry Kane, who fired a left footed volley well over the goal following Nico O’reilly’s headed effort rebounding off the crossbar.

A draw is enough to leave England top of the group on goal difference regardless of the result between Croatia and Panama, meaning they remain in pole position to win Group L ahead of their final game against Panama this coming weekend.

As it happened

Thomas Tuchel made a duo of changes to his England side for this one, replacing John Stones and O’Reilly with Marc Guehi and Djed Spence, the latter perhaps in a bid to deal with the raw pace of Antoine Semenyo in wide areas. Meanwhile, Ghana made four changes from their 1-0 win over Panama, the most notable being Thomas Partey’s return to the side after he was denied entry to Canada for their opener.

Iñaki Williams looked to burst in behind for The Black Stars in the opening moments, but he was caught offside, and his shot missed in any case. Moments later, Noni Madueke won a free-kick for England in a dangerous area, which Declan Rice whipped in, but he could only find a Ghanaian head.

The next Three Lions chance also came from a free-kick; this time Rice took on the strike himself and fired narrowly over the crossbar. A break in play came in the 21st minute, following a clash of heads between Reece James and Jordan Ayew; however, this was not used as the hydration break, as the referee made very clear when players headed over towards their coaches.

Rice was at the heart of the action again shortly before half-time, when he was shown the first yellow card of the match for a foul on Jerome Opoku. England continued to struggle to break Ghana down for much of the first half, failing to create any true chances from open play before the interval, meaning they headed in level at the break.

Ghana came out quickest in the second half, almost fashioning an opening through Marvin Senaya, whose cross was well cleared by Guehi. The Black Stars won a corner shortly after, which Ayew delivered into the area, but the ball evaded everyone.

Anthony Gordon registered England’s first shot on target of the match in the 56th minute, but the winger’s strike was straight down the throat of Asare in the Ghana goal. Gordon looked to push England forward again minutes later, this time winning a free-kick in a wide area. Williams was booked for the challenge.

Another free-kick opportunity presented itself shortly after, when Kane was fouled by Partey. Madueke was picked out from the set piece but fired high and wide. Changes followed for both sides, with Tuchel introducing O’Reilly and Bukayo Saka to replace Gordon and Spence as England’s hunt for an opening goal went on. Meanwhile, Ghana replaced Williams and Ayew with Abdul Fatawu and Prince Adu.

Jordan Pickford was perhaps a touch fortunate moments later, when he won a dubious free-kick from Adu after charging off his line. Asare was tested by Kane in the 68th minute, saving well to his left-hand side. The Three Lions’ next chance came shortly after, when Saka headed over the crossbar.

Further attacking changes followed for England, with Morgan Rogers and Eberechi Eze replacing Elliott Anderson and Jude Bellingham, who hadn’t hit the same heights as he did against Croatia. Ghana broke minutes later, causing pure chaos in the penalty area as England failed to deal with the run of Adu before he got his shot away, which was blocked by his own teammate Semenyo.

A clever piece of play from Saka won England a free-kick with less than 10 minutes of regular time remaining; however, the delivery was easily dealt with by Ghana once again as it failed to beat the first man. Marcus Rashford replaced Madueke following the set piece.

Asare’s best save of the game so far came when he denied Saka’s curling effort, before O’Reilly rattled the crossbar and Kane missed the rebound seconds after. Leaving England fans baffled as to how they hadn’t taken the lead. Ghana then replaced Marvin Senaya, who had been superb, with Kojo Peprah Oppong.

More worries followed for the travelling England fans when Rice pulled up injured in the 88th minute after halting a Ghana attack, thankfully he was able to carry on after running the issue off. As six minutes of injury time were announced by the fourth official, England won a corner but failed to find a white shirt yet again.

Another corner mere moments later threatened to be more fruitful with the ball being cleared off the line by a Ghanaian defender. Ghana’s final change saw Adu replaced by Baba Raman for the remaining few minutes of the contest.

England continued to huff and puff, but they were unable to blow the door down on the Ghana goal, meaning the spoils were shared in Boston.