England held by Ghana in World Cup stalemate; Kane misses late chance

England's quest for World Cup glory suffered a setback as they were held to a goalless draw by Ghana in their second group stage match. After an impressive 4-2 victory over third-place finishers Croatia in their opener, the Three Lions delivered a lackluster attacking performance against Ghana, failing to convert their chances.

The best opportunities fell to Nico O'Reilly, whose header struck the crossbar, and captain Harry Kane. In the 86th minute, Kane had a golden chance to score the winning goal and become England's sole record World Cup scorer, but he shot over the bar. The Bayern Munich striker now shares the ten-goal record with Gary Lineker.

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Harry normally scores that. When you don't score, when they defend so deep, then it just gets damn difficult.

"Harry normally scores that," said England coach Thomas Tuchel. "When you don't score, when they defend so deep, it just gets damn difficult." He added, "There were chances, but unfortunately, we couldn't reward ourselves."

Meanwhile, Croatia celebrated a vital victory in Luka Modric's 200th international appearance. The 2018 World Cup finalists and 2022 third-place finishers secured a hard-fought 1-0 win against Panama. Joker Ante Budimir scored the decisive goal in the 54th minute for Croatia, who now have three points and will face Ghana in their final group game. The loss means Panama is eliminated from the tournament.

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There were chances, but unfortunately, we couldn't reward ourselves.