Harry Kane’s unexpected goal drought during England’s World Cup draw with Ghana has been ascribed to more than just poor finishing. A well-known Ghanaian spiritual healer has claimed responsibility, saying he cast a spell on the England captain to safeguard his own nation’s chances.

A spiritual contest involving Harry Kane

Following England’s goalless encounter with Ghana in Boston, the self-proclaimed spiritualist Nana Kwaku Bonsam publicly asserted that he was behind Kane’s rare miss. Bonsam, whose name translates to “Devil of Wednesday,” stated that his supernatural powers were the reason the Three Lions’ captain failed to score at a critical moment in the match.

After the game, Bonsam declared that his spiritual mission was finished and that he would now allow the Bayern Munich striker to resume his prolific form. “I am the most powerful spiritualist in the whole world. Now, I am going to release Harry Kane so that, in his next match, he can score,” Bonsam said while performing a ritual and addressing the England captain directly. He also added, “Harry, I will come and visit you. Don’t be offended. We are friends.”

Foretelling the England captain’s misfortune

Bonsam’s claim was not made in hindsight; he had previously announced his intention to act against Kane before the match began. He had vowed to use his mystical abilities to prevent Ghana from losing, focusing his energy on neutralising one of football’s most lethal forwards.

In the run-up to the game, Bonsam told the Daily Star: “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. I am not wishing him serious injury. It will be just enough to stop him against my country. I will do my work so that it can help Ghana.”

The duel of mystics

The mystical narrative surrounding the fixture even captured the attention of well-known illusionist Uri Geller. Geller, who once claimed credit for Gary McAllister’s missed penalty at Euro 96, said he tried to shield Kane from the “negative vibrations” emanating from Ghana.

Determined to assist England’s talisman, Geller promised: “Before the match, I will send vibrations. I will activate all my powers, all my energy, all my know-how to stop his negative vibrations from hitting Harry Kane.” Despite Geller’s efforts, Kane squandered a major opportunity during the match, prompting Bonsam to claim that his magic prevailed. This incident followed Kane’s earlier heroics in England’s 4-2 win over Croatia, where he netted twice to equal Gary Lineker as England’s joint-top World Cup goalscorer.

A pattern of headline-grabbing curses

This was not Bonsam’s first brush with international football superstition. In 2014, he famously claimed responsibility for Cristiano Ronaldo’s knee tendinitis ahead of the World Cup in Brazil. With Portugal drawn in the same group as Ghana, the spiritualist asserted that he was the cause of the Al-Nassr star’s injury troubles.

Although Ronaldo recovered to feature and score during that tournament, both Portugal and Ghana were eliminated in the group stage. Now that Kane has supposedly been “released” from this latest spell, both Thomas Tuchel and England supporters will be eager to see their prolific striker rediscover his scoring touch as the knockout phase approaches. The draw leaves England on top of Group L with four points, level with Ghana but ahead on goal difference. Croatia are third with three points, while Panama remain bottom without a single point. England’s next challenge will be against Panama this Sunday.