England face Ghana at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough on June 23 2026, with kick off at around 4:00 PM ET in a Group L fixture where both sides arrive on three points. England beat Croatia 4-2 and Ghana saw off Panama, meaning six points from two games would almost certainly confirm a top two finish in a 48 team format where three of four go through. Win this and you're through, lose it and the final round gets complicated.
Tuchel took charge of England in January 2025, having been appointed the previous October and has since extended through Euro 2028 to become the first permanent foreign manager of the national side. His possession based, positionally structured setup will face something rather different from Queiroz, who was only appointed in April 2026 after Otto Addo's dismissal and had less than two months to work with the squad before the tournament. Queiroz knows tournament football from his time with Portugal and Iran, where he built sides that were hard to break down quickly. The two have never faced each other at senior international level.
The 4-2 win over Croatia showed England can hurt sides who press high, with Kane scoring twice, Bellingham adding one and Rashford scoring late on. Pre tournament friendlies were mixed, having beaten Costa Rica and New Zealand but losing to Japan, though the qualifying campaign was unbeaten and included multiple clean sheets, a run that suggests the back four has settled. Ghana's preparation was disrupted by Addo's sacking but the opening win over Panama gives Queiroz something to build on.
Bukayo Saka is doubtful after missing training and unlikely to start, while both Kane and Declan Rice have shaken off minor concerns from the Croatia game. Tuchel looks set to go with a 4-2-3-1: Pickford in goal, James, Konsa, Guehi and O'Reilly across the back, Rice and Anderson in a double pivot, with Madueke or Gordon, Bellingham and Rashford behind Kane. Mohammed Kudus is a major doubt for Ghana with a quadriceps injury, Ibrahim Sulemana is out and Lawrence Ati-Zigi may return, with their expected 4-2-3-1 having Asare or Ati-Zigi in goal, a back four of Adjetey, Djiku and Opoku, Partey and Yirenkyi or Sibo in midfield and Semenyo, Nuamah or Kamaldeen Sulemana alongside captain Jordan Ayew in attack.
England want to dominate possession and create through midfield combinations, James and O'Reilly are expected to push high, with Rice and Anderson providing the cover that frees them, while Bellingham's late runs into the box are difficult to track from a midfield starting position. Kane and Bellingham are also threats from dead balls and Tuchel's sides tend to be well drilled in this area. Ghana's threat lives in transition rather than sustained pressure: Semenyo is their most dangerous outlet on the break and Nuamah can also run in behind if the England full backs push too high. If Partey neutralises Rice, England lose their route through the middle and may struggle to bypass Ghana's block altogether.
The likeliest outcome feels like England 2-1 Ghana, with Kane converting at least one. Ghana's counter attacking setup is disciplined enough to produce at least one threatening moment on the break and a late goal for Queiroz's side seems plausible but England win and Ghana stay alive.
Ryan Baldi
Football Writer
Ryan Baldi is a professional football writer with years of experience and has been featured by respected outlets such as the BBC, The Guardian, Sky Sports, DAZN, FourFourTwo, ESPN, Yahoo Sport and Football365. He has also written several books including Arsène Who?.
