England escaped unpunished as ex-referee says Konsa foul should have been a World Cup penalty

England were held to a goalless draw by Ghana in Boston but may have been fortunate to escape with a point, after former Premier League referee Darren Cann argued that Ezri Konsa should have conceded a penalty following a challenge on Prince Kwabena Adu in the 79th minute.

The match official, Said Martinez, waved play on, and VAR did not intervene — a decision that left Cann visibly surprised during post-match analysis. “I agree, we had our hearts in our mouths when we saw Ezri Konsa make that challenge,” he said. “First and foremost, as an England fan, I’m absolutely delighted that it wasn’t given, but I have to be honest, for me, this should have been referred to the referee. Konsa makes no contact with the ball, he brings down his opponent.”

Cann was unambiguous in his assessment. “You can see it perfectly from this angle — he’s airborne, he’s out of control, he makes contact with the attacker, and no contact with the ball. For me, this is a penalty kick. We’ve had seven penalties in this World Cup so far. I’m very glad that wasn’t an eighth.”

When pressed on whether VAR would have overturned an on-field penalty award, Cann suggested the technology has largely deferred to referees throughout the tournament. “In this tournament, most of the time, they’ve gone with the on-field decision. We had one with the Argentina game where it was overturned, but the general thrust of the tournament is they will stick with the on-field decision unless it’s clearly, clearly wrong.”

Thomas Tuchel’s England struggled to create meaningful chances against a disciplined Ghana side that defended with ten players in a deep block for long stretches in Boston. Harry Kane spurned what Tuchel described as a big opportunity, and England were unable to find a way through despite sustained pressure.

Tuchel was measured but complimentary toward the opposition after the result. “Credit to them. I rarely saw a physical performance like that from a team,” he said. “They defended with 10 players in a deep, deep block, so made it difficult for us because they were very disciplined and very physical on every position. It took us a while to break this block down, to find this rhythm.”

The draw leaves England’s World Cup campaign in need of a response, with the VAR controversy adding an uncomfortable footnote to a night that offered little attacking encouragement for Tuchel’s side.