England laboured to a goalless stalemate against Ghana in Boston on Tuesday, raising fresh doubts about Thomas Tuchel's side heading into their final FIFA World Cup 2026 group game against Panama on Saturday.

A test of patience England failed

Where England had dazzled against Croatia a week earlier — cutting through defences with pace and creativity — they ran headlong into Ghana's deeply organised defensive structure and found no way through. The match was, remarkably, the first of this tournament in which neither side managed a single shot on target in the entire first half.

Tuchel's men did not land a shot on target until the 57th minute, and even when chances arrived late, they were squandered. Nico O'Reilly nodded against the crossbar in a frantic final spell, and Harry Kane then ballooned the rebound well over the bar. Kane himself managed only 19 touches across the 90 minutes, systematically man-marked out of the contest by a Ghana side well-drilled by Carlos Queiroz.

Substitutes offer a glimpse of something more

The introductions of Morgan Rogers, Marcus Rashford, and Bukayo Saka improved England's threat, generating openings that the first-choice lineup had failed to create. O'Reilly's positive cameo further complicated matters for Ghana. Those contributions will sharpen the selection debate ahead of Saturday — each of that trio now has a credible claim for a starting place.