England's second match of the World Cup gave Snus Vikings customers another reminder that guessing football results is much easier before the ball actually starts moving.
After the drama of Paraguay's win over Turkey, the next fixture in the Snus Vikings World Cup Guess the Results competition brought the focus back to England, who arrived for their meeting with Ghana in a strong position after opening the tournament with a 4-2 win over Croatia. That first performance had been entertaining, aggressive and full of goals, so there was every reason to think England might follow it with another confident display against a Ghana side that also knew a positive result could move them much closer to the knockout rounds.
Instead, England continued one of their more familiar tournament traditions by drawing the second group game.
The final score was 0-0, and although that result will have delighted anyone who guessed the draw, it did very little for those watching in the hope of another attacking performance. England controlled long spells of possession, Ghana defended with discipline and the match gradually settled into the kind of slow, frustrating rhythm that makes supporters spend most of the second half checking how much stoppage time is likely to be added. From a competition point of view, though, it was another excellent example of why the Guess the Results game works so well. The obvious answer is not always the correct one, and the customers who saw the draw coming have now added another reward code to their collection.
England Run Into a Wall
There was nothing especially disastrous about England's performance, which somehow made the match even more irritating. They were not chaotic, they were not completely overrun and they were not clinging on desperately for a point, but they also never really turned control into pressure often enough to make Ghana look uncomfortable for any sustained period.
Ghana deserve credit for that. They arrived with a clear plan, stayed compact throughout and repeatedly denied England the spaces that had been available against Croatia. Harry Kane was starved of clear chances for much of the match, Jude Bellingham found it difficult to impose himself in the final third, and England's wide players spent too much of the evening trying to work openings against a defence that always seemed to have another body in the way.
The closest England came was Kane's second-half effort against the post, which briefly threatened to turn a forgettable game into another narrow tournament win. Had that chance gone in, the reaction to the match would probably have been very different, because tournament football often allows teams to disguise average performances behind efficient results. It did not go in, however, and once Ghana survived that moment, the match drifted back into the same pattern that had defined much of the evening.
For England fans, it was a familiar feeling. A strong opening game creates optimism, the second group game becomes awkward, and suddenly everyone starts trying to work out exactly what is needed in the final fixture. England are still in a decent position, but the draw means there is now more pressure on the Panama match than there might have been had they taken all three points against Ghana.
Another Reward for the Draw
For the Snus Vikings competition, the result was much more straightforward.
If you guessed that England and Ghana would draw, another reward code should be heading to your inbox. As with the previous fixtures, those codes can be collected and stacked across the tournament, so one correct result is useful but a run of correct results can become much more valuable as the competition develops.
This is the part of the promotion that makes it more interesting than a one-off giveaway. The tournament keeps changing shape, and every match gives customers a new chance to build their rewards. Mexico beating South Africa may have felt fairly predictable to most players, Brazil being held by Morocco immediately made things harder, Paraguay beating Turkey rewarded anyone prepared to back an outsider, and England drawing with Ghana has now done the same for those who expected another uncomfortable second group game.
Even if this result did not go your way, the next chance comes quickly.
England vs Panama Is Next
The next featured match in the Snus Vikings World Cup Guess the Results competition is England against Panama, and after the Ghana draw, it suddenly feels like a much more important fixture than it might have done a few days ago.
England remain in control of their own situation, but they will want to remove any uncertainty by finishing the group stage properly. The performance against Ghana was not a collapse, but it was flat enough that Thomas Tuchel will know improvements are needed. England have too much attacking quality to spend another match moving the ball without consistently threatening the goal, and supporters will expect a sharper, quicker and more ruthless performance next time out.
There is also an obvious piece of history attached to this fixture. England played Panama at the 2018 World Cup and won 6-1, with Harry Kane scoring a hat-trick in one of the most comfortable tournament afternoons England have enjoyed in recent memory. Nobody should assume that the same result is coming again, because this tournament has already shown how quickly comfortable assumptions can become expensive mistakes, but it is still difficult to look at the match without remembering how dominant England were on that day.
For Kane, the fixture could arrive at exactly the right time. His evening against Ghana was frustrating, and although he came closest to scoring for England, he never quite had the service or space needed to properly take control of the game. Against Panama, England will hope to create earlier chances, stretch the opposition more effectively and give their captain the kind of opportunities he usually takes.
Panama, of course, will have watched the Ghana match with interest. They will have seen that England can become frustrated when faced with a compact defensive shape, and they are likely to arrive with a plan designed to keep the game tight for as long as possible. If England score early, the match could open up very quickly. If they do not, the anxiety that surrounded the Ghana game may start to return.
Do the Offers While the Tournament Continues
The Guess the Results game remains the main focus of the World Cup promotion, but the rest of the Snus Vikings tournament offers are still available alongside it.
The World Cup Top 11 selection continues to feature special pricing across selected products, while the six Mystery Boxes remain a popular option for customers who want something less predictable. The Lions, The Samba, La Roja, Champions Box, The Blues and The Lisbon all offer a different way to get involved with the promotion while the football continues.
That combination is really the point of the campaign. You can follow the matches, make your guesses, collect rewards when you get them right and still take advantage of the wider World Cup offers while the tournament is going on.
Get Your England vs Panama Guess Submitted
England versus Ghana may not live long in the memory, but for anyone who guessed the draw, it was still a very useful result.
Now attention turns to Panama, and this feels like one of the more interesting guesses of the competition so far. England will be expected to win, history suggests they are more than capable of doing so convincingly, but the draw with Ghana has added just enough doubt to make the next selection more interesting than it first appeared.
Will England repeat something close to their 2018 performance?
Can Kane rediscover his scoring touch?
Or will Panama take lessons from Ghana and make life uncomfortable again?
Get your guess submitted before kick-off, keep an eye on the match, and check your inbox after the final whistle to see whether another reward code is coming your way.
