Benjamin Asare made five stops, his back line defended resiliently and Ghana held England to a 0-0 draw in Tuesday’s Group L encounter in Foxborough, Mass.
England (1-0-1, 4 points) came closest to scoring on Ghana (1-0-1, 4 points) in the 86th minute when Nico O’Reilly rattled the crossbar with a header and Harry Kane followed the miss with a first-time half-volley that sailed high.
The Three Lions outshot the Black Stars 19-2 overall and 5-0 in efforts on target, yet failed in their bid to complete a perfect World Cup group stage for the first time since 1982.
Both teams remain in a strong position to advance to the last 32, as they sit tied atop Group L. Croatia (1-1-0, 3 points) defeated Panama (0-2-0, 0 points) 1-0 in the second group clash Tuesday to earn their first points of the tournament.
Ghana seek to advance beyond the group stage for the first time since 2010, when they reached the quarterfinals and were eliminated on penalties to Uruguay following Luis Suarez’s infamous handball to deny the Black Stars a potential winning goal.
England outpossessed Ghana by nearly a 4-to-1 ratio before halftime and held the Africans without a single shot attempt. But they also managed only six of their own and none on target.
The Three Lions finally put one on frame in a 57th-minute sequence, with Anthony Gordon’s deflected effort finally forcing Asare into a stop after Noni Madueke’s promising attempt from the right side of the penalty area was headed clear.
England might have been fortunate when Prince Adu was whistled for a foul after he and England goalkeeper Jordan Pickford collided racing after a 50-50 ball.
Replays suggested Pickford was in the wrong, but it was neither a penalty nor a red-card offense, so it was not reviewable.
In the 79th minute, referee Said Martinez again opted not to blow a whistle after English defender Ezri Konsa’s airborne challenge to disrupt Adu on the break.
After that, the pressure was mostly on Ghana’s end. Following O’Reilly’s and Kane’s misses, Marc Guehi saw his header cleared off the line, though it might have been heading wide.
–Field Level Media
