England huffed and puffed against Ghana, but were unable to blow the house down as their second group game of the 2026 World Cup petered out to a 0-0 draw.
The Three Lions won’t be happy with the result, but they are now all-but through to the knockout rounds. Who were their best – and worst – performers against the Black Stars? Let’s take a look at their player ratings.
England
GK: Jordan Pickford – 6
Ghana weren’t set up to pile on the pressure, so Jordan Pickford wasn’t too involved in the game, but he dealt with everything that he needed to effectively.
RB: Reece James – 5
Reece James struggled to deal with Ghana’s pace and physicality at times. He and Antoine Semenyo had an intriguing battle in which each gave as good as they got.
CB: Ezri Konsa – 5
Ezri Konsa lucky to not concede a penalty in the second half after an offside decision spared his blushes, but didn’t do much wrong outside of this.
CB: Marc Guehi – 6
A solid performance from Marc Guehi upon his return to the England starting XI. Cleared everything that came his way and played some excellent balls out of defence.
LB: Djed Spence – 6
An ‘ok’ performance from Djed Spence. Made some decent attacking contributions, but also conceded possession under little pressure at times.
CM: Declan Rice – 7
England’s best player on the day – a marked improvement from his outing against Croatia. Completed more key passes than anyone else on the pitch – five in all – and was very strong in the tackle.
CM: Elliot Anderson – 6
Ghana understood the threat that Elliot Anderson presented and were very tight on him as a result. Nevertheless, he was still a useful partner to Rice in central midfield, always looking to receive the ball and pressing hard out of possession.
RW: Noni Madueke – 6
England’s attacking players will be the subject of much criticism in the press, but Noni Madueke looked lively once again. Used his pace effectively and created some decent chances.
AM: Jude Bellingham – 5
Jude Bellingham’s low rating is more of a reflection of how well Ghana contained him, but it can’t be denied that this was far from his best game. His passing was a little wayward throughout and he regularly cut a frustrated figure.
LW: Anthony Gordon – 2
A concerningly poor display from the ex-Newcastle United man. Unable to produce anything of note down the left wing and looked lost at times. Poor.
ST: Harry Kane – 2
Harry Kane might be the best striker in the world, but one would not have guessed it from this deeply flat performance. Missed gilt-edged chance from around five yards out late on – this summed it up for him, sadly.