Overview
- The England–Ghana group match ended 0-0 after Harry Kane missed a late, wide-open chance in Boston on June 23, a moment that focused attention on pre-match comments by Nana Kwaku Bonsam.
- Bonsam publicly told media he had “worked on” Kane before the game and posted videos after the match saying he had released or lifted the curse so Kane could score in England’s next fixture.
- News outlets and social platforms rapidly amplified Bonsam’s ritual videos and statements, turning the episode into a viral cultural story that mixed sport, superstition, and spectacle.
- Independent fact-checkers examined post-match coverage and interviews and refuted a circulated quote falsely attributing to Kane that he “lost control of his body,” noting Kane instead spoke about tactics and missed chances.
- Bonsam’s history of attention-grabbing claims, including a 2014 assertion about Cristiano Ronaldo, shaped coverage and commentators stressed there is no evidence that spiritual rituals influence match outcomes.