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England v Ghana - World Cup betting preview

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England can secure their place in the World Cup knockout rounds with a game to spare if they can bypass Ghana’s low block in Foxborough on Tuesday.

This Group L clash at the Gillette Stadium sees the tournament's third-favourites looking to build on an explosive, if slightly chaotic, 4-2 opening victory over Croatia. Thomas Tuchel's ultra-attacking approach paid immediate dividends on matchday one, with the Three Lions racking up a record-breaking 20 shots inside the penalty area to snap a miserable nine-game winless tournament run against top-15 nations.

Ghana arrive level on three points but under far less convincing circumstances, having ground out a 1-0 win over Panama in Toronto. Carlos Queiroz’s side failed to register a single shot in the first half of that fixture, ultimately relying on a 95th-minute breakaway goal from 20-year-old midfielder Caleb Yirenkyi to steal the points.

England have never lost a World Cup match against African opposition across eight previous encounters, recording five wins and three draws. For Queiroz, his heaviest career defeat at a World Cup came at the hands of England in 2022, when his Iran side were comprehensively dismantled 6-2 in the group stages.



Team news and lineups


England

England Tuchel faces a minor defensive dilemma after both Ezri Konsa and John Stones were culpable for Croatia’s goals last week. Manchester City centre-back Marc Guéhi is widely tipped to step into the back four tonight to partner Stones, who, alongside Jordan Pickford, will earn his 14th World Cup appearance.

Fitness concerns surrounding Bukayo Saka, Marcus Rashford, and Declan Rice have cleared up after all three trained on Monday. While Saka and Rashford are likely to make an impact from the bench, Noni Madueke is expected to retain his starting role on the right flank following an impressive matchday one showing.

In midfield, Nottingham Forest’s Elliot Anderson will partner Rice after winning possession a team-high eight times against Croatia. Ahead of them, Jude Bellingham will earn his 50th international cap at just 22 years and 359 days old—becoming the youngest player in English football history to reach the milestone.

  • England predicted lineup (4-2-3-1): Pickford; James, Stones, Guehi, O'Reilly; Anderson, Rice; Madueke, Bellingham, Gordon; Kane



Ghana

Queiroz has been forced into an immediate change in goal after first-choice keeper Lawrence Ati-Zigi suffered a groin injury against Panama, leaving Benjamin Asare primed to start between the sticks.

The Black Stars receive a monumental boost in midfield with the return of Thomas Partey. The veteran midfielder was legally barred from entering Canada for the opening match due to an ongoing legal trial in the UK, but he has been cleared for the US leg of the tournament and will instantly demote Elisha Owusu to the bench.

Manchester City winger Antoine Semenyo will look to kickstart his tournament from the left flank after a completely anonymous opening game where he registered just 36 touches. He will support veteran forward Jordan Ayew, who leads the line in a side that has never kept back-to-back clean sheets in World Cup history.

  • Ghana predicted lineup (4-2-3-1): Asare; Senaya, Adjetey, Opoku, Mensah; Yirenkyi, Partey; Fatawu, Sulemana, Semenyo; J. Ayew


England vs Ghana preview

This fixture will play out as a direct test of England’s patience against a classic Queiroz low block. Ghana will willingly concede possession, dropping into a compact defensive shell designed to choke the space around Bellingham and deny Harry Kane room to turn.

The African side will look to execute the exact same blueprint that frustrated Panama for 94 minutes, praying that Partey can screen the backline before feeding Semenyo on the counter-attack.

The issue for Ghana is that their defensive metrics before arriving in North America were highly unstable, conceding 10 goals in the four games leading up to the tournament. 

Standing in front of a backup goalkeeper in Asare, they face an England frontline that generated the highest non-penalty xG (1.09) from dead-ball situations across the entire opening round.

Harry Kane is also chasing personal history tonight. A single goal against the Black Stars will move him past Gary Lineker to become England's all-time leading goalscorer at the World Cup finals.

Expect a tight, claustrophobic opening half-hour where Ghana throw bodies behind the ball to protect their backup keeper. However, once England break the deadlock, Queiroz’s side simply do not possess the transitional speed or cutting edge to exploit England’s defensive vulnerabilities. As Ghana are forced to venture forward late in the second half, the introduction of explosive options like Rashford and Saka from the bench should allow England to comfortably clear the margin.



England vs Ghana picks and predictions



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