Preview: England meet Ghana as Three Lions target the knockout stages

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By Matt Smith

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Thomas Tuchel‘s side secured a 4-2 victory over Croatia in their opening match after a professional second half saw them take all three points. 

It took a 95th-minute winner for Ghana to defeat Panama in their opening game, putting them in second place behind England in the group. 

It’s been a while since these two sides faced each other, with their last meeting coming all the way back in 2011.

Tuchel’s game-changing team talk

England manager Tuchel will be hoping that he doesn’t have to provide an influential team talk at half-time when they face Ghana, but he certainly proved he can do so if needed. England were relatively disappointing in the first half against Croatia, but they produced some of their best attacking play in recent years in the second half. 

England match momentum vs. Croatia

England produced a phenomenal nine shots on target, with 22 touches inside the opposition box in the second half, with a lot of those coming from the left-hand side. Tuchel made incredibly positive changes, with the likes of Marcus Rashford, Bukayo Saka, and Morgan Rogers all coming off the bench. 

Ghana going through tricky period

Although Ghana managed to qualify for the World Cup, there’s no doubt they’ve endured a difficult period over the last 20 years or so. Ghana currently rank 73rd in the FIFA rankings despite being 14th in 2008. 

Ghana’s victory over Panama also ended a run of seven games without a win, losing six of those matches. They did manage to top their group in qualifying, but there is no doubt they had a favourable set of sides to face. 

They’ll certainly have to improve on their performance against Panama if they want to beat England, and they’ll need more from the likes of Antoine Semenyo. 

Kane the obvious danger man

It’s not just Harry Kane‘s finishing ability that the likes of Ghana need to worry about at the World Cup. The Bayern forward can dictate games from deep, despite being a centre-forward on paper, while also getting into the box to score goals. 

Kane created two chances against Croatia while also scoring twice, having more touches in the opposition box than any other player. When you have players like Noni Madueke, Anthony Gordon, Rashford or Saka running in behind, Kane dropping into deeper areas doesn’t even limit England’s attacking play. 

Kane’s heat map vs. Croatia

Ghana will have to do everything they can in order to try to keep Kane quiet, but many clubs and countries have tried and failed to tame the deadly forward. 

Prediction

England should get the job done considering Ghana’s recent struggles over the last few years. We are going for a 3-1 victory to Tuchel’s side.

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(Cover image from IMAGO)

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