England v Ghana prediction and preview as the Three Lions target top spot in World Cup group

After an impressive win in their opening fixture at the 2026 World Cup, England can wrap up a knock-out berth with a match to spare with a win against Ghana on Tuesday. SPORTbible is here to cover the second Group L game as the Three Lions aim to take the next big step in their World Cup quest under Thomas Tuchel.

England were frustrated to have conceded two equalisers before half time against Croatia in their first game, but they will be encouraged by the burst after the break that piled on the pressure and quickly yielded a Jude Bellingham goal.

Croatia hauled themselves back into the game after each of Harry Kane's two goals, but Bellingham's low strike finally spiked their resilience. Marcus Rashford put the gloss on a 4-2 win with a late goal to put England on the cusp of a place in the round of 32.

Going into the tournament, we spoke to almost 1,500 fans across the UK as part of Operation Ladisfaction with Ladbrokes and found that 47% got more or equally as excited about the build-up to the World Cup as the actual action itself, but confidence is already increasing among supporters going into the second match against Ghana at Boston Stadium.

The Black Stars are languishing nearer the middle of the FIFA World Rankings than the top, and laboured in their 1-0 win against Panama, and given two-thirds of the fans we spoke to backed England to make it to the semi-finals before a ball had even been kicked, we reckon Three Lions renditions will seriously jump up a notch if Tuchel's boys make it two wins from two.

The players to watch out for

England

Ghana are by no means expansive under short-term head coach Carlos Quieroz, who has moved quickly to bring his more conservative outlook to a national team who've been punching below their weight for some time.

England can anticipate a familiar challenge: a low block operated by a team with little desire to take unnecessary risks but sharp enough teeth to nick a goal if they can force England into a pedestrian attacking display.

Avoiding that eventuality will fall in part on the positive progressive passing ability of Elliot Anderson, the set piece delivery of Declan Rice, and the dynamic midfield combination between the two of them and captain Kane, who will look to create from deeper positions once more.

READ MORE: Declan Rice reveals he has been struggling with 'behind the scenes' problem that led to England substitution

Noni Madueke's performance on the right wing divided opinion after the win over Croatia, but there's no doubt he was among the most aggressive and direct England players in possession.

Buff out some of the rough decision-making edges and avoid dead ends in Ghana's defensive third and he could well have a big impact.

Ghana

Caleb Yirenki couldn't have asked for an easier finish for his winning goal against Panama, but the Nordsjaelland midfielder impressed off the bench and put himself in the right place at the right time.

The architect of Yirenki's tap-in was Brandon Thomas-Asante, the Coventry City winger who will be eager to make an impression in the Premier League after he helped Frank Lampard and the Sky Blues win promotion last season.

His lightning pace on the left was the single biggest contributor to the only goal of the game and England-born Thomas-Asante will aim to be an option again if Queiroz uses him against the Three Lions.

England will certainly be wary of Antoine Semenyo, also born in England, who struggled to impose his abilities against Panama but is without a doubt Ghana's most potent threat.

The battle that will decide the match

Semenyo played on the left in Ghana's first game. If the Manchester City man does the same again, the key to England keeping a clean sheet could be his one-on-one scrap with right-back Reece James.

Depending on Tuchel's selection at the back, James will be backed up by Ezri Konsa or John Stones from centre-back. If they can keep the former Bournemouth man quiet, England should have enough going forward to get the job done and secure first place in the group.

And while the reaction to England’s performance against Croatia has been extremely positive, the two goals they conceded, and some of the other positions Croatia were able to get into, have opened up some concerns about the strength of the defence.

If they could put those to bed with a more solid performance and, ideally, a clean sheet this time around, that would bring true Ladisfaction to England fans going into the final group game and looking ahead to the knockouts.

Who will come out on top?

The Black Stars are not experiencing their finest vintage. Ghana started the World Cup ranked 73rd in the world and failed to qualify for the most recent Africa Cup of Nations.

But with Croatia coming up in their final match, Queiroz and his team have no margin of error left.

They need a result in Boston, but England have their tails up and surely have too much firepower to be kept out by any of the teams in the group.

Unsurprisingly, the Three Lions are strong 2/9 favourites with Ladbrokes to get the win, with a Ghana upset priced at a long-shot 11/1 and even the draw out at 11/2. Maybe we’re getting carried away and will soon be brought back down to earth, but we're backing a straightforward 2-0 England win.

The second Group L fixture between England and Ghana will kick off on Tuesday, June 23, at 9pm BST (3pm local time).