What to expect from England vs Ghana in a fight for supremacy in World Cup Group L

The 4-2 victory was full of attacking intent and verve, and saw them have 20 shots from inside the area, a record for an England team at a WC tournament.

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Winner takes all clash

It was also the first time since the 1966 World Cup final when England beat Germany at Wembley, that they'd ended a WC game with that scoreline.

Standing in their way of winning Group L are Ghana, who themselves were 1-0 victors in their opening game of this World Cup against Panama.

The Three Lions will fancy their chances of progression, given that they are unbeaten in eight WC fixtures against African opponents (W5, D3), and the Ghanaians have never kept consecutive clean sheets in the tournament. 

Ghana have also lost four of their seven WC games with European sides (W2, D1), and the only time they've played England previously came way back in 2011, when the two sides drew 1-1 in a friendly.

England in superb form

Furthermore, current form certainly favours Thomas Tuchel's side. In their last six games, England have won four, drawn one and lost one, whilst the Ghanaians have won one, drawn one and lost four of their last half dozen.

One of Tuchel's big decisions in what's expected to be a physical encounter is whether he risks Bukayo Saka from the start of the match or at all.

The Arsenal man has an Achilles tendonitis issue, which saw him begin the Croatia win on the bench, and whilst it's thought that he's slowly but surely on the mend, this might not be the best game in which to bring him back in.

One player who will definitely start is the captain and talisman, Harry Kane.

Partey return will boost Ghana

The most in-form striker in Europe, the No.9 dazzled in the WC opener, and his two first-half goals set England on the path to victory, even if they were pegged back twice by the Croatians, the first goals that Tuchel's men had conceded in competitive action for some time.

Should Jude Bellingham play any part, too, he'll end up becoming the youngest player at 22 to have earned 50 caps for the national team.

For Ghana, they hope to have the services of Thomas Partey available, after the former Arsenal midfielder was denied entry to Canada and missed his country's opening game, because of ongoing criminal proceedings against him in the UK.

Caleb Yirenkyi, who scored the late winner against Panama, will sit alongside Partey should the latter start, and that could give their side a little more control than they had in their first match in the midfield areas.

Semenyo out to torment former teammate

That said, with both Declan Rice and Elliot Anderson in top form, the game might well be won or lost based on which side has most control in the centre of the pitch, and the ability to break forward and supplement the attack when required.

Of course, Ghana also have a striker of their own who has enjoyed a superb club season.

Antoine Semenyo had already played for half a season at Bournemouth, scoring 10 goals in 20 Premier League games, before seamlessly transitioning to Manchester City in the January transfer window, and bagging a further seven in the English top-flight.

An FA Cup-winning goal cemented a superb 2025/26 campaign for the 26-year-old, though he's likely to be up against ex-teammate John Stones, who has been in great defensive form himself and is a wily and experienced campaigner who will know all about Semenyo's strengths and weaknesses.

Strike partner and record-breaker, Jordan Ayew, the first Ghanaian to play at three World Cups, didn't impress against Panama, so it wouldn't be a surprise if Carlos Queiroz decided to drop the forward for this one. 

There were a few question marks as to England's defence in the Croatia game, so it will be interesting to see if Tuchel decides to keep faith with the back four which started in the opener, or mixes things up a bit to allow others, such as Marc Guehi - a surprising omission against Croatia - to get some minutes in their legs.

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Jason Pettigrove has been the features writer for Flashscore since 2025, utilising Opta data to form the basis of his articles. He has previously worked for high profile football clubs, news and media outlets, both in print and digital, and can usually be found watching FC Barcelona when time permits. You can read more of his pieces here.