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England striker Watkins challenges teammates to seal Round of 32 qualification against Ghana
22nd June, 2026 01:06 PM
Aston Villa and England striker Ollie Watkins has urged England to get their qualification to the 2026 World Cup knockout stages sealed on Tuesday, June 23, 2026, clash with Ghana.
Thomas Tuchel’s side put one foot in the last 32 with an opening 4-2 win over Croatia on Wednesday, June 17, 2026, and victory against the West African nation in Boston will seal their progression.
Top spot could then be sealed if Panama fails to beat Croatia in the day’s other Group L clash, meaning the final game against Panama on Saturday, June 27, 2026, would be a dead rubber for the Three Lions.
“I think that every game you play, you want to win. We’re preparing now for the game at hand, doing all we can to win,” he said.
“We want to top the group. We want to win every game and progress through the next round.
“I think that’s everyone’s aim at the end of the day, but we’re in a good position so far. We need to keep building on the Croatia performance.”
Ghana is rated 65th in the world and, on ranking, is England’s weakest opponent in the group stage.
However, Manchester City star Antoine Semenyo will provide a big threat, and England will need to be on their guard.
But Watkins revealed Tuchel would be more bothered by what his side does.
The Aston Villa striker added: “To be fair, the thing I like about this manager is obviously he highlights their threats – we know Semenyo is a great player as you’ve seen in the last few seasons – but he focuses a lot on us and what we try to do with the ball, and how we’re trying to dominate them, and what we’re doing out of possession, in possession, and some tactical things we can do to hurt them.
“That’s a really positive thing that I’ve seen from the manager,” he told Sky Sports.
Read here on Monday, June 22, 2026, for for fixtures as the second round of the competitions continues with Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappé among the stars in action.
