England vs Ghana preview

Venue: Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts

Date: Tuesday 23 June, 2026

Kick-off: 8 pm

Referee: Said Martinez (Honduras)

England face Ghana at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts, on Tuesday in a Group L clash that, despite both sides sitting on three points, carries very different weight for each camp. It’s a chance to all but seal knockout-stage qualification for both teams.

England opened their campaign with a thrilling 4-2 win over Croatia in Dallas, with Harry Kane breaking open the match with a clinical penalty before slotting home his second just before the break, while Croatia twice fought back through Martin Baturina and Petar Musa. Jude Bellingham restored England’s lead immediately after the interval, with Marcus Rashford sealing the win late on.

Ghana’s path to victory over Panama was far more nervy. The match looked destined for a goalless draw under steady rain until Caleb Yirenkyi bundled home a stoppage-time winner in the 95th minute, sparking ecstatic celebrations and keeping Ghana level with England on points.

England have no missing players, though Marcus Rashford has been struggling with hamstring tightness and Bukayo Saka is dealing with fitness issues, meaning Noni Madueke should keep his place on the right. Marc Guéhi could come into the back line, while Thomas Partey is back available for Ghana after missing the opener, and Brandon Thomas-Asante is pushing for a start following his bright cameo off the bench.

Ghana’s recent form away from the tournament makes for sobering reading — they have lost four of their last five games heading into the World Cup, including a 5-1 defeat to Austria, with their only point coming from a 1-1 draw with Wales.

Harry Kane is closing in on history: he has scored five goals across five international appearances against African nations, and if he scores against Ghana he would overtake Gary Lineker’s tally of ten to become England’s all-time top scorer at the World Cup. Jude Bellingham is also nearing a personal milestone, with the chance to make his 50th England appearance at 22 years and 359 days old — which would make him the youngest player in history to reach that mark for the Three Lions.

For Ghana, much of the spotlight falls on Thomas Partey’s return and on Antoine Semenyo, who endured an underwhelming opener, attempting just two shots and recording the fewest touches of any Ghana player who played the full game.

Jordan Ayew, meanwhile, made the most high-intensity pressures of any striker on the tournament’s opening matchday, with 69 in total.

England are strong favourites, with Opta’s supercomputer giving them victory in 78.8% of 25,000 simulations.

A win, combined with the right result elsewhere, would move Tuchel’s side closer to topping Group L. For Ghana, anything less than a positive result would leave their World Cup hopes hanging by a thread heading into the final group game.

This will be the first-ever competitive meeting between the two nations, their only previous encounter coming in a 1-1 friendly draw at Wembley in March 2011, when an Andy Carroll goal was cancelled out by a stoppage-time equaliser from Asamoah Gyan.