Before kick-off in Boston, Djed Spence appeared to be the only England player who did not shake hands with Thomas Partey. All other England players apart from Spence appeared to greet Partey, and the FA gave no specific guidance to England’s players for when they came face to face with him during the pre-match ceremony.

The moment quickly became the main talking point around England vs Ghana, because the broadcast pictures did not show every handshake and the reaction spread fast on social media. One report put it bluntly: “England full-back Djed Spence appeared to snub a handshake with Ghana midfielder Thomas Partey ahead of this evening’s World Cup 2026 clash.”

The ceremony and the reaction

The footage mattered because it left one clear image in view, Spence standing out from the rest of the squad. A Sky Sports report also said all other England players apart from Spence appeared to shake hands with Partey, which is why the full group reaction was hard to miss.

There is a football angle here too, even if the handshake was the headline. Spence’s latest England outing was a 6.2-rated, 14-minute appearance against Croatia, so this was not a senior figure carrying the weight of the squad leadership. It was a young player in a brief moment, then a very public one.

Partey’s presence dominated the build-up

Partey’s own presence was always going to draw attention. He denies seven charges of rape and one count of sexual assault, relating to allegations by four different women between 2020 and 2022. He was absent from Ghana’s opening World Cup game after Canadian officials denied him entry to the country.

The wider match context was also already busy. England had beaten Croatia 0-0 in their opener and were top of Group L on three points, while Ghana also arrived on three points after a 1-0 win over Panama. Reece James and Jordan Ayew were among the names around the game, but the pre-match ceremony still belonged to the handshake.

The sensible reading is that Spence’s gesture appeared to be the outlier, not a scene that can be turned into certainty from the broadcast alone. But with the rest of the England squad greeting Partey, and with the ceremony cutaways and social clips driving the reaction, the pre-match story was already set before the whistle.

Written by Jack Mercer with AI-assisted research, cross-checked against 7 outlets. How we work →