David Beckham’s Face Said Everything About England’s Scoreless Stalemate vs. Ghana

David Beckham sat in the stands at England’s World Cup match against Ghana on Tuesday looking like a man who had already seen this movie. And not the good kind.

Cameras caught the former England captain around the 30-minute mark with a far-off, almost worried expression. By then, it was already clear what kind of afternoon it was going to be. England couldn’t break through Ghana’s defense. Ghana couldn’t find the net either. The game ended 0-0.

It wasn’t for lack of effort. England pushed forward. They created a few half-chances. But nothing clean, nothing dangerous. Ghana, meanwhile, had some scary moments on the counter. A few close calls that could’ve turned the whole group stage upside down.

A draw that tells a bigger story

England still sits in good position to top Group L. That’s not the issue. The issue is what this game exposed. Against a disciplined, organized defense, England looked flat. No creativity in the final third. No one willing to take a risk. The same kind of problems that have haunted this team in past tournaments.

Maybe Beckham wasn’t thinking about this squad at all. Maybe he was thinking about his own World Cup history. And let’s be honest, none of it is fun to remember.

Beckham played in three World Cups for England. He made 115 appearances for the national team. He captained the side. And he never won the tournament. Nobody has since 1966.

In 1998, he got benched early by manager Glenn Hoddle for what the coach called a lack of focus. Beckham eventually played in the Round of 16 against Argentina. That’s when he got sent off for kicking Diego Simeone. England lost on penalties.

In 2002, England reached the quarterfinals. Brazil knocked them out. Beckham took some of the blame for a goal where he didn’t track back on defense.

In 2006, he became the first English player to score in three different World Cups. But he was sick and injured late in the tournament. England lost to Portugal in the quarterfinals again.

So yeah. Watching England struggle to score against Ghana might’ve brought some old feelings back.

England still controls its own fate in Group L. But if this team wants to go further than Beckham ever did, they’ll need to fix what went wrong against Ghana. And fast.