England will aim to make it two wins from two in Group L of the World Cup when they face Ghana in Boston on Tuesday, having opened their campaign with a thrilling 4-2 victory over Croatia in Dallas.
Selection dilemmas on the wings and in defence
Thomas Tuchel must decide whether to stick with the starting front four that overwhelmed Croatia or introduce match-winners from the bench. Anthony Gordon and Noni Madueke were the original wide men in the opening game, but Bukayo Saka and Marcus Rashford combined for the fourth goal after coming on as substitutes. Tuchel admitted there is healthy competition for places on both flanks, with Saka and Rashford both pushing for a start against a Ghana side that also won its Group L opener, beating Panama 1-0 in Toronto courtesy of a stoppage-time goal from Caleb Yirenkyi.
Saka looked a doubt for the Ghana match after he was the only squad member not involved in Saturday’s session, instead following an individualised programme. However, he trained in full on both Sunday and Monday and could now be thrown into the starting XI ahead of schedule. The Arsenal winger has a history of hamstring, ankle and other muscle issues, but appears to have come through the tailored workload unscathed. Marcus Rashford complained of muscle discomfort after the Croatia match but has trained fully in the days since and is not considered a doubt.
Central defence presents another major quandary for Tuchel. John Stones started alongside Ezri Konsa against Croatia but struggled, and there is mounting pressure from supporters to drop the Manchester City defender in favour of Marc Guéhi. The Crystal Palace centre-back came off the bench late on in Dallas and is now pushing for a first start of the tournament. Stones has 90 caps and 13 World Cup appearances for England, while Guéhi — with 30 caps — is appearing at his first World Cup. Konsa, who has 21 caps, is also making his tournament debut.
Injury concerns allayed
Fitness worries over captain Harry Kane and key midfielder Declan Rice have eased. Kane was pictured with strapping on his left leg after the Croatia game, but that was solely for cramp and he is expected to be fit to lead the line again. Rice asked to come off after feeling pain during the match, but Standard Sport understands it was nothing serious. The Arsenal midfielder has since revealed he has been managing nerve pain in his hamstring since Christmas, playing through it for six months and totalling 63 matches this season — 55 for his club and eight for England. He is set to be involved against Ghana.
All 26 members of England’s squad trained fully on Monday in Kansas City before flying to Boston. That includes Trevoh Chalobah, who was called up as a replacement for Newcastle’s Tino Livramento after the full-back withdrew with a calf injury sustained in training. Livramento had already missed the end of his club season with a thigh issue. Chalobah, who has one cap, was present at a behind-closed-doors training match against MLS side Sporting Kansas City on Thursday but did not feature.
That training match, played across two 25-minute halves at England’s Swope Soccer Village base, ended in a 5-1 win. Ivan Toney scored a hat-trick, with Ollie Watkins and Morgan Rogers also on the scoresheet. Rogers, Eberechi Eze and Djed Spence were among those given minutes having not appeared in the Croatia game. Rogers is vying with Jude Bellingham for the No.10 role, with Bellingham favourite to start after his fine goal and overall impact against Croatia.
Predicted England XI (4-2-3-1): Pickford; James, Konsa, Guéhi, O’Reilly; Anderson, Rice; Madueke, Bellingham, Gordon; Kane.
The match kicks off at 9pm BST on Tuesday June 23 at Boston Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts — a venue with a capacity of 64,628 that will host seven World Cup matches including a quarter-final. It will be shown live on the BBC. This is the first competitive meeting between England and Ghana; they drew 1-1 in a friendly in 2011. England have never lost to an African nation at a World Cup in eight meetings, though they did lose 3-1 to Senegal in a friendly in June 2025. Ghana, ranked 73rd in the world to England’s fourth, are seeking to reach the knockout stage for the first time in 16 years after their quarter-final run in 2010. Their coach Carlos Queiroz, whose Iran side lost 6-2 to England in the 2022 group stage — his heaviest defeat at a World Cup — will be wary of a side that has scored four goals in each of its last two meetings with African opposition at the tournament.
