Claim: England captain Harry Kane reacts to curse placed on him by a Ghanaian witch doctor
Source: Social media (TikTok)
Verdict: AI-generated content
According to Alpha Shaban
June 23, 2026 Ghana and England played out a goalless draw at the 2026 World Cup, preserving both teams’ unbeaten starts in Group L, which also features Croatia and Panama.
England defeated Croatia 4-2 in their first match, while Ghana defeated Panama 1-0. Both teams are level on four points each, but England lead the group in terms of goals scored, while Croatia have three points after defeating Panama in the second round.
The off-field buzz before and after the Ghana-England match concerned claims by a Ghanaian witch doctor that he had placed a curse on England forward Harry Kane, captain of the Three Lions. Kane had scored twice in England’s game against Croatia.
It was widely reported in international and local media that coach Nana Kwaku Bong-sam said Kane would be fit for the game but would not score. After the match ended scoreless with Kane barely marked, Kwaku Bong-sam announced that the curse had been lifted.
A video circulating after the match suggests that Harry Kane directly addressed the issue of the curse in his post-match interview. A TikTok post captured Kane speaking about learning about the curse before the match and the impact it could have on his performance. It has been viewed more than 500,000 times in one day, with 34,600 likes, 983 comments, 3,074 bookmarks, and 5,115 shares.
This report fact-checks whether the Bayern Munich forward actually spoke out about the curse of Kwaku Bong-sam.
fact check
GhanaFact has reviewed the England team’s post-match reactions, including an article on Kane’s reaction from the England team, as well as his full post-match interview with ITV at Boston Stadium in Foxborough.
Kain’s reaction is never asked anywhere in the story, nor does he react to Kwak Bong-sam’s alleged curse.
I also checked the England team’s YouTube page, but there was no sit-down interview with Harry Kane for the game against Ghana. Furthermore, although Kane is seen wearing a red off-field jersey in the viral video, the England team did not wear that particular kit at the World Cup, suggesting the video is likely manipulated.
I passed the video through the Google Gemini platform. It was confirmed that the voice was generated by AI. Google Gemini concluded that “based on digital forensic analysis of the visual and audio components, the audio in this video was indeed generated by AI.”
“The audio is confirmed to be a sophisticated voice clone and not a genuine recording,” it added, citing acoustic artifacts and pitch variations, unnatural speech rhythms, and changes in robotic text-to-speech (TTS).
They also pointed out audio-visual mismatches (lip-sync issues) and out-of-sync phrasing. “The visuals of Kane speaking were taken from the context of an entirely separate and unrelated interview. The creators of the video cut short 2-3 second loops of Kane moving his mouth and repeated them over a fabricated script, creating the illusion of a continuous monologue.”
“This video is a classic example of a ‘deepfake’ or AI voice clone parody created for social media entertainment,” Gemini added.
verdict:
Claims that Harry Kane reacted to Kwaku Bong-Sam’s curse are false and the video is a deepfake.
Ahead of the group’s final match (June 27, 2026), the Group L table looks like this.
Full text of what Harry Kane reportedly said in viral clip
A Ghanaian witch doctor abused me before a World Cup match, and to be honest, I don’t even know how to explain it after it happened. Before that match, I was in great shape. He started the World Cup by scoring two goals in the opening game.
Everything felt easy. Just when I was feeling sharp, confident and unstoppable, I saw something in the net before the game against Ghana. A Ghanaian witch doctor has publicly said that Harry Kane will not get injured but will not score against Ghana. I laughed it off. Come on, I’m a professional striker. I don’t believe in that.
However, the game continued to be a close 0-0, and in the 85th minute, they grabbed a perfect chance. No defenders nearby, open space. This is exactly the kind of moment when I would normally be deciding the score blindfolded. But somehow I ended up flying it over the bar.
I immediately realized that something had fallen. I couldn’t believe I had missed it and felt really dizzy for a moment. The goal also looked bigger and weirder than usual. Now, listen, am I saying that curses are real? Not exactly, but after missing an opportunity like that, I can understand why people would talk about it. So please tell me, was it just a mistake or did that witch doctor get inside my head?
