FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — When England’s Harry Kane skied a rebound off the crossbar into the crowd against Ghana, I knew the chances of the World Cup match ending in a 0-0 draw on Tuesday were high.
The crowd of white shirts behind the goal groaned when that ball flew up in the air. Chance after chance had slipped away from England to win it.
It could be easy to drone on about all the things that went wrong for an English squad with lofty expectations. Coming off a 4-2 victory over a strong Croatia side, they were the favorites to win against the Black Stars.
As a photographer on the upper concourse for the match and a lifelong fan of the sport, I could not have had a better view of everything that was going right at Gillette Stadium.
Walking into the home of the New England Patriots looked a little different on Tuesday afternoon. The one big similarity between this June soccer match and a fall football game was the rain that persisted throughout.
The concourse at Boston stadium was a colorful array for the match between England and Ghana on June 23, 2026. Credit: ALEXANDER RAPP / Monitor 
Even in the upper concourse, fans were dazzled and chanted throughout the match as they willed their teams for a goal in the England-Ghana tie. Credit: ALEXANDER RAPP / Monitor 
The Ghanaian fans stuck around after the 0-0 draw to celebrate a crucial result against England in their hopes of qualifying for the FIFA World Cup knockout rounds. Credit: ALEXANDER RAPP / Monitor
The colors in the stands, white-red for England and yellow-red for Ghana, created a colorful view. The constant England chanting, the drums from the Ghanaian supporters and the myriad of jerseys from other countries made the stadium feel like a true world event.
Of course, there was a New England flavor to it all. “Sweet Caroline” played before the game began and the stadium erupted in unison, just like it does in Fenway Park — and, dare I say, even louder.
An obvious question arises after a boring game on paper: “Why?” There are all these thousands of people following a match with no scoring, without the end-to-end speed and scoring of ice hockey or basketball.
Being in the stadium, it was easy to see. The tension built up and up throughout the course of the 90 minutes, even with the newly added hydration breaks halfway through each half.
There was the travel, the cost, the opportunity to display culture and the raw emotion of it all. The chance for an upset was high at points.
The clearest chance Tuesday came from Ghana’s Prince Adu in the 78th minute after a poor tackle by England’s Ezri Konsa. While on the ground, Adu flicked the ball toward goal but his own teammate, Antoine Semenyo, blocked it by accident.
England tried to break Ghana’s low defensive block and failed. It never seemed to find a good open look on target until Kane’s miss toward the end.
Ghana striker Prince Adu (25) and England goalkeeper Jordan Pickford (1) collide at the edge of the box after a long ball sent over the top in the 0-0 draw at Boston Stadium. Credit: ALEXANDER RAPP / Monitor 
Arsenal and England star Bukayo Saka (R) fires off a curved shot against Ghana that was saved by Benjamin Asare. Credit: ALEXANDER RAPP / Monitor 
Ghana’s Prince Adu (25) fires a shot from the ground straight toward his teammate Antoine Semenyo (11), looking for a late game-winner against England. Credit: ALEXANDER RAPP / Monitor 
England’s Nico O’Reilly’s (3) header ricochets of the crossbar against Ghana at Boston Stadium on June 23, 2026. Credit: ALEXANDER RAPP / Monitor 
Real Madrid and England national Jude Bellingham (10) is dispossessed in the box by Ghana’s Gideon Mensah (14). Credit: ALEXANDER RAPP / Monitor
The England squad looked defeated after the match, and their fans knew it. Hands on knees and thousand-yard stares were common on England’s side. The draw was far from World Cup ending for them, though, as they will most likely qualify for the next round.
The Ghanaians were dancing and playing music in the stands. They waved their flag proudly in the air, and the players hugged on the field with big smiles. The draw likely secured their qualification for the next round, too.
It was a dream come true for me. Sure, it would have been nice to see a goal. Witnessing the joy and passion for the sport at that level, at that scale, was like nothing I had seen before. I heard every language spoken around me: Arabic, French, Portuguese, Spanish, Japanese and plenty of English with an accent.
I wondered what all these fans thought on their way in as they passed multiple Dunkin’ locations on the way to the game. Fans talked about how beautiful the drive down I-95 was with all the trees. They discussed the scale and look of the stadium and how it compared to European soccer-specific arenas. It filled me with pride that we could showcase some of our culture with the six Super Bowl banners hanging from above.
All in all, the experience at Gillette Stadium was like nothing I had seen before in New England sports, and I’m glad it’s sticking around for a while longer.
Although it’ll be hard to top the bar set by the Scottish fans and the Tartan Army last week.
