FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) 鈥� England and Ghana coach Carlos Queiroz have met before at the , with the result being quite a bit different.
This time, Queiroz鈥檚 team earned a point that could end up being enough for a spot in the round of 32.
England dominated possession on Tuesday but came up empty on several late scoring opportunities in a rain-filled 0-0 draw.
鈥淥ur plan was to block and frustrate them from the first minute,鈥� Queiroz said. 鈥淲e did it.鈥�
Four years ago at the World Cup in Qatar, Queiroz was coaching Iran when his team faced England and lost 6-2.
England, which has not lost to an African country at the World Cup in nine meetings, outshot Ghana 19-1 but failed capitalize on multiple chances in the closing minutes.
鈥淔rustrated a little bit with how they defended, how they set up,鈥� England midfielder Jude Bellingham said. 鈥淭hey got exactly out of the game what they played for. Couldn鈥檛 quite break them down, even with all corners, all the possession, all the shots on goal from distance.鈥�
Both teams won their opening matches at this year’s tournament, with and . Now both still have work to do in Group L before securing a spot in the knockout round at the first 48-team World Cup.
England ended up losing to France in the quarterfinals at the 2022 tournament. Ghana hasn鈥檛 made it to the knockout round since reaching the quarterfinals at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.
But with the expanded tournament this year, the best eight third-place teams will advance, giving both teams a good chance heading into their final group matches.
England will next play Panama on Saturday in East Rutherford, New Jersey. Ghana will take on Panama at the same time in Philadelphia.
The Three Lions had a chance to take the lead in the 86th minute when Nico O鈥橰eilly鈥檚 header hit the crossbar. Harry Kane gathered the rebound but couldn鈥檛 get enough on it with his left foot and shot high.
Ghana鈥檚 best chance came in the 78th when Abdul Fatawu outfought England midfielder Eberechi Eze for the ball and raced down the sideline. He fed the ball to Prince Adu, but he was challenged from behind by Ezri Konsa before he could get off a shot. Adu wanted a penalty but didn鈥檛 get it.
鈥淚t was a clear penalty, if not a red card,鈥� Queiroz said. 鈥淲e have no doubts about that.鈥�
England coach Thomas Tuchel said they were a bit surprised with how Ghana was aligned, defending in a 4-5-1 formation. He called Ghana’s efforts one of the most physical that he’s seen in the tournament.
鈥淭hey defended with a lot of determination. A lot of discipline,鈥� Tuchel said.
Tuchel added he doesn鈥檛 believe England was too dependent on Kane, the striker who won the Golden Boot at the 2018 World Cup in Russia.
鈥淗e was not involved as much as we would like to, but it was so narrow,鈥� Tuchel said. 鈥淚t was difficult to find space. The little moments that he had were just so unlucky.鈥�
In the first half, England had 60% of the possession but only five attempts on goal, with Kane missing inside the box just before the end of the half.
Ghana picked up the pace in the second half, getting a chance in the 50th when Marvin Senaya got a touch in the box, but couldn鈥檛 quite get much behind a header as it was blocked by the England defense.
Ghana goalkeeper Benjamin Asare earned a clean sheet in his first World Cup start.
鈥淚 think we did our best to get the best possible result that we were hoping for,鈥� Ghana midfielder Kwasi Sibo said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 just the plan of the coach and we did follow the coach.鈥�
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