Overview
England will face Ghana in a match that could decide the fate of Group L of the 2026 World Cup.
If they win, the "Three Lions" will definitely be in the knockout round. Even if Croatia defeats Panama in the remaining match of the group, Thomas Tuchel's team will soon win the top spot in the group.
In the opposite direction, Ghana also has a similar opportunity. A victory over England combined with Panama overcoming Croatia will help the African representative rise to the top of Group L.
Although they both have 3 points after the first match, the way England and Ghana won is completely different.
Ghana defeated Panama thanks to a late goal in injury time, although they could not take any shots in the first half. Carlos Queiroz's team only achieved a total expected goal index (xG) of 1.25 and is considered lucky to win all 3 points.
Meanwhile, despite revealing many gaps in defense and conceding two goals against Croatia, England still created one of the most impressive attacking performances in the first match.
The Three Lions" have 11 shots on target, only less than Germany (12). In addition, Tuchel's team also leads in xG excluding penalty kicks from set pieces with 1.09.
The performance in the second half against Croatia also showed that England still had a lot of room to improve, especially when Bukayo Saka and Marcus Rashford created a positive impact after being brought on from the bench.
One of the biggest highlights of the "Three Lions" in the opening match was Elliot Anderson. The Nottingham Forest midfielder regained ball control eight times, the most among English players.
Under Thomas Tuchel, Anderson is averaging 9.6 ball recovery times per 90 minutes, more than any other English player with over 500 minutes of play.
If they beat Ghana, England will have the fourth time in history to win both opening matches at a World Cup, after 1982, 2006 and 2018.
This could also be a memorable milestone for many "Three Lions" stars. Jordan Pickford and John Stones are both facing the opportunity to have their 14th match at the World Cup, only behind Peter Shilton's record of 17 matches.
Meanwhile, Jude Bellingham may reach the milestone of 50 caps for the national team. If he plays, the Real Madrid midfielder will become the youngest player in England history to achieve this feat.
Harry Kane is also aiming for a special milestone. Just scoring against Ghana, the England captain will surpass Gary Lineker to become the top scorer for the "Three Lions" in World Cup history.
Head-to-head record
The clash at Foxborough will be the first time England and Ghana have faced each other at a World Cup.
Previously, the two teams had only met once in history, in a friendly match held at Wembley in March 2011. The match ended in a 1-1 draw, when Andy Carroll scored for England and Asamoah Gyan scored for Ghana.
England also has an unbeaten record against African representatives at the World Cup, with 5 wins and 3 draws after 8 encounters.
Score prediction: England 2-1 Ghana
The match between England and Ghana takes place at 3:00 AM on June 24 (Vietnam time).
