When Harry Kane missed an absolute sitter from point-blank range in the 87th minute of England’s 0-0 draw against Ghana on Tuesday, a large contingent of English fans were spooked out — and for good reason.
In the lead-up to the match, Ghanaian witch doctor Nana Kwaku Bonsam claimed he had put a spell on Kane.
“I am working on Harry Kane. I have shown what I am capable of before, so I know what work I must do to stop him. I am very famous for my predictions,” Bonsam told The Daily Star, referencing his past curse on Cristiano Ronaldo during the 2014 World Cup match between Portugal and Ghana.
“I am not wishing him serious injury,” Bonsam said of Kane. “It will be just enough to stop him against my country. I will do my work so that it can help Ghana.”
“I am working on Harry Kane. I have shown what I am capable of before so I know what work I must do to stop him. I am not wishing him serious injury. It will be just
Did Harry Kane Curse Work?
Kane finished Tuesday’s game with just 19 touches, his fewest for England in any major tournament appearance in which he logged at least 80 minutes. Even more worryingly, the 32-year-old missed a bunny at the 87th-minute mark when Nico O’Reilly’s header came back off the crossbar and fell invitingly into Kane, who uncharacteristically struck the ball high over the crossbar from point-blank range.
It was the sort of miss that had fans wondering if the witch doctor’s curse worked.
Also worth noting is that England, after their crushing 4-2 win over Croatia in the Group L opener, were overwhelming favorites against World No. 65 Ghana — the lowest-ranked team the Three Lions had faced at a major tournament in the past 30 years, per ESPN Research. Furthermore, England enjoyed 79% possession and yet could not score — the first team to do so in the past 60 years at the World Cup.
Should England Fans Worry?
“You go through games like that,” Harry Kane told the BBC after the goalless draw.
“I was waiting for an opportunity like that to fall my way and it was a game as a striker where you are just waiting for the ball to bounce. It did and I just couldn’t quite get over the ball.
“Yeah, I’d back myself to score that more often than not, but it is what it is, and I’ve been a striker long enough to know they don’t always go in, so I have to accept it.”
The Guardian’s David Hytner felt that Thomas Tuchel’s side was dealt a stern “reality check” after their win over Croatia in the opening match.
“The idea was to maintain the momentum they had generated in the 4-2 win over Croatia in their opening Group L tie but there was no surge here. Only stodge. England laboured to create against an ultra-defensive Ghana team, their only pulse-quickening moments coming towards the very end,” wrote Hytner.
The writer highlighted that Kane blew a golden chance that literally landed on his lap.
“It could have been different if Kane had kept his shot down when the big chance beckoned. In the final analysis, England did not do enough,” he wrote.
England would have secured their spot in the knockout stage with a win. Instead, they find themselves in a tricky spot ahead of the final fixture against Panama. While England and Ghana are tied at the top of Group L with four points, Croatia picked up three points with their win over Panama on Tuesday.
England, Harry Kane Hit With Troubling News After Ghana Draw