Ghana fought their way to a 0-0 draw with England on Tuesday night that took them closer to qualifying for the knockout stages at the World Cup for the first time since their dazzling run to the last eight in 2010 in South Africa.
The stalemate left them with four points after two games in Group L. They lie behind England on goal difference.
Croatia are third with three points following their 1-0 win over Panama who have been eliminated from the tournament following their second consecutive defeat.
“Our plan was to block and frustrate England from the first minute,” said Ghana head coach Carlos Queiroz. “We did it.”
Ghana’s best chance of the match came in the 78th minute came when Abdul Fatawu took the ball off England substitute Eberechi Eze and raced down the right wing.
Queiroz queries officials' decision
He passed the ball to Prince Adu who was on the verge of shooting at the England goal but was challenged from behind by Ezri Konsa.
"It was a clear penalty, if not a red card,” Queiroz said. "We have no doubts about that."
England survived the scare and could have taken the lead in the last five minutes but skipper Harry Kane flashed the ball over the crossbar of the goal.
"I think full respect to Ghana," said England boss Thomas Tuchel.
"They defended with a lot of determination, with a lot of discipline, and with one of the most physical performances that I saw from a team defending."
The 52-year-old German added: "We had enough set-pieces to decide the match but we were not clinical enough."
England can claim top spot in Group L on 27 June when they take on Panama in New Jersey.
Ghana face Croatia in Philadelphia on the same day. A point will take Ghana into the last 32.
Portugal's Cristiano Ronald strikes twice
In Group K, Colombia advanced to the knockout stages following a 1-0 win over Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) in Guadalajara.
Daniel Munoz scored the only goal of the game in the 76th minute.
The result leaves DRC in third place behind Colombia and Portugal - who thrashed Uzbekistan 5-0.
Portugal skipper Cristiano Ronaldo scored twice in the rout against the World Cup debutants to take his goal tally up to 145 in 230 appearances for his country.
On 27 June in Miami, Portugal and Colombia will battle for top spot in Group K while DRC will take on Uzbekistan in Atlanta..
Victory will give DRC the chance to move into the last 32 knockout stages as one of the eight best third-placed teams or even automatically should Portugal suffer a heavy defeat to Colombia.
