Partey locks down Kane as Ghana hold England 0–0

England 0–0 and your defence stood tall

A clean sheet against England. Ghana 0–0 in the second Group L match on Tuesday, and it felt like more than a point (1) (7) (16). Thomas Tuchel could not hide his respect. "I have enormous respect for Ghana. They defended with great determination and discipline," the England manager said (1). No one saw that coming, England's attack looked blunt all night.

Partey man-marked Kane out of the game

Thomas Partey did a job on Harry Kane. England's captain admitted it afterwards: "I was almost man-marked by Partey for a lot of the game. I didn't really have the space to drop deep and then arrive late in the box" (9). That is as close to a surrender as you will get from a striker of Kane's stature.

A handshake refused before kickoff

England's Djed Spence refused to shake Partey's hand before the match (2) (12). The gesture was deliberate, and England fans made their feelings clear too, Partey was loudly booed during his first World Cup appearance (12). The off-field storm around him is not fading.

Queiroz: VAR was on holiday

Carlos Queiroz was furious with the officials after the final whistle. "VAR was on holiday," he said, and Wayne Rooney backed him up, the former England striker said Ghana should have had a penalty when Ezri Konsa brought down Prince Kwabena Adu (17) (18). A 0–0 that could easily have been a win.

Bellingham and Queiroz clashed on the touchline

Tensions spilled over during the match when Queiroz and Jude Bellingham got into a heated row. Tuchel played it down afterwards, calling it a "silly tackle, bad reaction" (8). The Ghana bench was not backing down from anyone.

Fan reactions

The image doing the rounds on Reddit is Ghana goalkeeper Benjamin Asare training in a swimming pool before the tournament. He kept a clean sheet against England. The contrast says it all. Read the thread