England vs Ghana: prediction & betting odds 23 June 2026

Form and Line-up England

Thomas Tuchel's England started the World Cup with a confident victory over Croatia (4:2), showing not only attacking power but also mental resilience. The team twice lost their lead during the match, but each time found the strength to respond: a Harry Kane brace, a Jude Bellingham goal and a precise Marcus Rashford strike after coming off the bench.

Kane, having scored twice, drew level with Gary Lineker for World Cup goals and confirmed his status as the team's main goalscorer. There is complete balance in the Three Lions squad: the commanding Pickford in goal, the experienced Stones and Konsa in central defence, the energetic Rice and Bellingham in midfield, and Saka and Rashford on the flanks, who combined after coming on as substitutes to create the fourth goal.

Tuchel surprised many with his selection, leaving Trent Alexander-Arnold, Maguire, Palmer and Foden out, but the first match at the World Cup confirmed that the German coach had found the right combinations and was ultimately right despite criticism from the media. The only problem is looseness near their own goal and at set pieces: Croatia scored twice despite creating only 0.70 xG.

Key numbers for England:

• Harry Kane has scored 10 goals at World Cups — the leader is still Miroslav Klose (16 goals), now matched by Lionel Messi.

• In qualifying, they won eight matches out of eight with a goal difference of 22:0.

• In their last 11 matches, including friendlies, they have lost only to Japan (0:1).

Probable line-up (4-2-3-1): Jordan Pickford – Reece James, Ezri Konsa, John Stones, Niko O'Reilly – Elliot Anderson, Declan Rice – Bukayo Saka, Jude Bellingham, Anthony Gordon – Harry Kane.

Absentees: Tino Livramento (ruled out through injury), replaced by Trevoh Chalobah from Chelsea.

Form and Line-up Ghana

Ghana began the World Cup with a dramatic victory over Panama (1:0), secured in the 95th minute thanks to a goal from Caleb Yirenkyi. It was a classic match from the African team: compact defence, discipline in midfield and quick counter-attacks. The team had only 38% possession but created 1.31 xG from eight shots, two of them on target.

Head coach Georgios Donis set up a compact 4-4-2 system with an emphasis on physicality and pace. Caleb Yirenkyi stood out in midfield, completing 31 of 32 passes and scoring the only goal. The downside was an injury to goalkeeper Lawrence Ati-Zigi, who was quite successfully replaced by Benjamin Asare, who made three saves.

However, the level of resistance against England will be incomparably higher — the African side will have to withstand top-level pressing and minimise turnovers in midfield, where Bellingham and Rice will close off every zone. Ghana have already shown that they know how to survive in difficult matches, but overall all of the national team's stars looked subdued. Semenyo had only two shots and was caught offside once, while Sulemana from Atalanta lost the ball seven times and completed only one successful dribble.

Key numbers for Ghana:

• Their best World Cup result is the quarter-finals (2010); at the last two tournaments, they failed to get out of the group.

• The win over Panama was their first in the last seven matches; before that, there had been five defeats and one draw.

• In their last 14 matches against European national teams, they have earned only one victory.

Probable Ghana line-up (4-4-1-1): Benjamin Asare — Marvin Senaya, Jonas Adjetey, Jerome Opoku, Gideon Mensah — Ernest Nuamah, Caleb Yirenkyi, Elisha Owusu, Antoine Semenyo — Kamaldeen Sulemana — Jordan Ayew.

Absentees: Thomas Partey, Lawrence Ati-Zigi (both doubtful).

Who will referee the match

Saíd Martínez (Honduras)

Matches – 9 (International matches, 2025-2026);

Average fouls per match – 31;

Average Y/C per match (including second yellows) – 4.2;

Matches with R/C – 0 out of 9;

Matches with penalties – 4 out of 9.