England given reality check by stubborn Ghana to leave group in the balance
It was a talking point beforehand in the England dressing room, Harry Kane bringing it up; a message with it, too. At each of the previous three tournaments, the team had spluttered in game two. The roll call of irritation took in the draws against Scotland and Denmark at the European Championship – either side of the draw against the United States at the last World Cup. Must do better this time, was the gist of what Kane said.
England did not do better. The idea was to maintain the momentum they had generated in the 4-2 win over Croatia in their opening Group L tie but there was no surge here. Only stodge. England laboured to create against an ultra-defensive Ghana team, their only pulse-quickening moments coming towards the very end.
Thomas Tuchel has made great play of his finishers and two of those he introduced from the bench almost made it happen. Bukayo Saka extended the Ghana goalkeeper, Benjamin Asare, with a low shot while Nico O’Reilly hit the crossbar with a header after England had finally moved the ball with a bit of zip. Reece James provided the cross. From the rebound, Kane lashed high; a gilt-edged miss. In stoppage-time, Marc Guéhi saw a header cleared away from in front of the line.
At least England did not lose and the latest second match stalemate was not the worst result. Was it better to take the point rather than risk pushing for all three and getting none? It was certainly more measured and sideways than the performance against Croatia.
England were mainly secure at the back, although they did survive a scare in the 79th minute when Ghana got the substitute Prince Kwabena Adu away and Ezri Konsa leapt into a challenge inside the area. It was messy, Konsa appearing to touch his opponent first and Ghana’s appeals for a penalty were loud. Konsa got the benefit of the doubt.
It was the proverbial wet and windy Tuesday, prompting the question of whether England could do it on this kind of occasion. It was maybe not one the players had envisaged as they went through their hot-weather preparations in Florida. England could not deliver, this a return to the travails against the dreaded low block. A New England? Not here.
Tuchel knew Ghana would present a different test to Croatia. The Black Stars changed their manager at the end of March, bringing in Carlos Queiroz, and this was only his fourth game in charge. There was limited footage of his team for England to study. But Queiroz is Queiroz and it was no surprise to see him set up in an extremely compact 4-5-1 system. He gave the impression that he considered possession of the ball to be a bonus.
England had to plot a route through the thicket of yellow shirts. Their movement needed to be sharp; ditto the tempo of their passes, especially the switches. Tuchel wanted to channel the feeling of the second half against Croatia; the pace and precision. It did not happen.
The first quarter of the game – as it must now be called – set the tone. When the time came for the first hydration break, which was absolutely not needed and loudly jeered, England had little to show for their domination of the ball. There were moments when they almost got runners up and inside but nothing came of it. Noni Madueke repeatedly checked back on the right wing, which Ghana were happy about. Their priority was to keep England in front of them.
Ghana made zero apologies for their lack of ambition and their supporters seemed on board with the approach. They gave their team a rapturous ovation at half-time and they would do so again upon the full-time whistle. Their team only managed two shots all game. It did not matter. They measured their progress in the speed and diligence of their defending.
There was no single moment to quicken the pulses of the England fans before the interval; the statistics showed Tuchel’s team had six shots, with none of them on target. Asare was untroubled. Jude Bellingham barged into Jerome Opoku in the 45th minute and it was easy to detect the frustration in his subsequent row with Queiroz. The Ghana bench were not impressed.
England had to stay patient. That was the message from Tuchel’s assistant, Anthony Barry, when he spoke to ITV during half-time. His interviews have become box office. He noted that Ghana defended even deeper than England had expected. Barry called the first-half “absolutely OK from our point of view”.
Perhaps the England management thought it was time for the carrot rather than the stick. They were acutely aware of how difficult this type of game can be. What they definitely did not want to do was offer Ghana any encouragement, which almost happened straight after the restart.
Bellingham was called upon to make a fine one-on-one tackle against Antoine Semenyo while Djed Spence had to be alert to keep out Marvin Senaya. There would also be the flashpoint on 67 minutes when Ghana worked Adu up and through, with Jordan Pickford making a reckless dash from his line. The pair collided with Pickford a little fortunate to get the free-kick.
Tuchel made attacking changes; Saka first, then Morgan Rogers and Eberechi Eze. The latter replaced Elliot Anderson in midfield; a progressive move. The pickings remained slim for England in the second half before the late push. It could have been different if Kane had kept his shot down when the big chance beckoned. In the final analysis, England did not do enough.
