England were held to a goalless draw by Ghana in another busy night of World Cup football.
The Three Lions had beaten Croatia 4-2 in the opening game of the tournament and were firm favourites to dismantle Ghana, but Thomas Tuchel’s side were unable to break down the Africans’ resilient defence. The point means England have qualified for the knockout stage but must beat Panama on Saturday to ensure they finish the group as winners.
In the other fixture in Group L, Panama suffered a narrow defeat to Croatia and were eliminated from the World Cup as Luka Modric reached his 200th international appearance during the encounter.
Meanwhile, Colombia confirmed their progression to the knockout phase with victory over DR Congo. Crystal Palace star Daniel Munoz struck the only goal to place the South American nation in a commanding position ahead of their match with Portugal. That clash is a shootout to determine who tops the group after Cristiano Ronaldo made World Cup history as Roberto Martinez’s side battered Uzbekistan 5-0. Here, the Daily Star Sport rounds up last night’s World Cup action.
Bellingham confrontation
England could only muster a stalemate against Ghana in a disappointing encounter for the Three Lions. The scoreless affair witnessed Jude Bellingham and former Manchester United assistant Carlos Queiroz engage in a heated exchange at the interval after the Real Madrid star appeared to confront one of the Ghana players. Both sets of players rushed in as the spat was separated at the break.
Following the match, Bellingham appeared dejected when presented with his Superior Player of the Match award, insisting he was undeserving of the honour. He felt one of Ghana’s players merited the recognition instead.
Spence handshake
Before kick-off, there was plenty of speculation and conversation about how England would interact with Arsenal midfielder Thomas Partey. The 33-year-old was booed by England fans and missed his country’s first game in the tournament after he was denied entry into Canada.
Partey had told officials he had never been arrested nor charged with a crime despite him pleading not guilty to seven charges of rape and one count of sexual assault relating to allegations by four different women between 2020 and 2022. He is due to stand trial next year.
Djed Spence was the only England player not to shake hands with Partey, leaving the Villarreal midfielder looking shocked. Thomas Tuchel was asked about the incident during his post-match press conference but was prevented from responding by a media official.
Witch doctor strikes?
Ghana’s most famous witch doctor said he will put a curse on Harry Kane ahead of the Ghana game. Nana Kwaku Bonsam, whose name translates literally as “Devil of Wednesday”, has previous after he clamied responsibility for a knee injury that threatened Ronaldo’s involvement in the 2014 World Cup.
Speaking on Kane, he said: “I am not wishing him serious injury. It will be just enough to stop him against my country. I will do my work so that it can help Ghana.”
And well, believe what you want, but Kane suffered a poor night for England as the Bayern Munich star sliced the best chance of the game over the bar from six yards out.
Ronaldo joins the party
Tuesday also witnessed Cristiano Ronaldo rediscover his scoring touch. The Portugal legend netted twice against Uzbekistan in a 5-0 triumph, becoming the first player to find the net across six editions of the tournament.
Nevertheless, Ronaldo sparked controversy after the match when he declined to respond to a journalist’s question about the prospect of potentially facing Lionel Messi in the knockout round.
Ronaldo responded: “Well, I don’t know what to answer you, because that’s a somewhat… pointless question, but anyway. It would be great. But the most important thing was today. Winning to advance from the group and be prepared for what’s to come.
“We know we’ll have a tough match against Colombia, but the main objective was to get through the group and we did it. I played well, scored, helped the team. The team is doing very well, and we move on.”
Didier Deschamps’s tragic news
Didier Deschamps will be absent from France’s clash with Norway due to the heartbreaking passing of his mother. The head coach of Les Bleus is heading back to his home country in light of the sad news with France’s assistant Guy Stephan taking the reins.
The French Football Federation confirmed in a statement issued on Tuesday: “Didier Deschamps will not be able to oversee training sessions ahead of the Norway v France match. He will also be absent from the bench for Friday’s final Group I game.
“The national team coach learned this morning of the death of his mother and will return to France to attend her funeral.
“In agreement with Philippe Diallo, president of the French Football Federation, who is currently at the France team’s base camp, Deschamps has entrusted assistant coach Guy Stephan with responsibility for leading the squad until his return.”