England threatened with Ghana 'curse' ahead of World Cup match

Harry Kane in action against Croatia — Harry Kane has 81 England goals to his name (Image credit: Getty Images)

The World Cup is a celebration of different cultures from around the globe...but some tabloid tropes die hard.

Rather than speaking to a Ghanaian football expert or something ahead of the Black Stars' meeting with England on Tuesday, the always culturally sensitive Daily Star instead got in touch with headline-seeking self-claimed 'witch doctor' Nana Kwaku Bonsam.

Funnily enough, it just so happened that he had something for them: he's apparently going to hex Harry Kane.

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Spurious hex claim for Harry Kane

Harry Kane of England celebrates scoring a goal to make the score 1-0 during the FIFA World Cup 2026 Group L match between England and Croatia at Dallas Stadium. — Harry Kane bagged a brace against Croatia (Image credit: Chris Brunskill/Fantasista/Getty Images)

The 'African witch-doctor' trope, specifically as it pertains to curses, has been criticised as a way of reducing the positive community work of traditional healers down to the subject of mockery.

The term is 'laden with centuries of colonial baggage', but remains part of the British media vocabulary nonetheless.

Cristiano Ronaldo scored the winner against Ghana at the 2014 World Cup — Cristiano Ronaldo seemingly overcame his hex in 2014 (Image credit: Getty Images)

Nana said: “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."

We are here reminded of the possibly apocryphal memo attributed to BBC director general Lord Reith: “If a person is famous, it is superfluous to point out the fact; if he is not, then it is a lie."

In any case, Nana went on: "I am not wishing [Kane] serious injury. It will be just enough to stop him against my country. I will do my work so that it can help Ghana."

Nana has previously claimed credit for Cristiano Ronaldo's struggles with a knee injury ahead of the 2014 World Cup.

Ronaldo subsequently started every game for Portugal at the competition and scored the winning goal in a 2-1 victory over Ghana as both sides went out in the group stage. Danhausen has a better track record than that.

Caleb Yirenkyi scored the only goal of the game against Panama — Ghana claimed a 95th-minute victory over Panama in their opening game (Image credit: Getty Images)

Ghana were not terribly convincing in their opening game of this summer's tournament, but nonetheless eked out a 1-0 victory over Panama thanks to Caleb Yirenkyi's 95th minute strike.

That puts them level on points with England, who beat Croatia 4-2 thanks to Kane's first-half brace and second-half goals from Jude Bellingham and Marcus Rashford

The two sides will meet at Boston's Gilette Stadium on Tuesday, with kick-off set for 4pm local time (9pm UK time).

A victory for either side could guarantee they will finish top of Group L, depending on the result in the later game between Panama and Croatia.

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Steven Chicken has been working as a football writer since 2009, taking in stints with Football365 and the Huddersfield Examiner. Steven still covers Huddersfield Town home and away for his own publication, WeAreTerriers.com. Steven is a two-time nominee for Regional Journalist of the Year at the prestigious British Sports Journalism Awards, making the shortlist in 2020 and 2023.