AfriPulse
Thomas Tuchel was left stunned by Harry Kane’s late miss as he glossed over a poor England display, with the Three Lions being held to a 0-0 draw by Ghana in their second World Cup outing in Boston on Tuesday evening.
England were unable to repeat the flowing football that powered them to victory against Croatia in their opening contest as they were frustrated by a disciplined and dogged Ghana side.
Victory would have secured the Three Lions a place in the last-32, but a disjointed England failed to muster a shot on target until the 57th-minute and could have conceded on a couple of dangerous Ghana counter-attacks.
Nico O’Reilly was unlucky to see a late header crash against the bar, with skipper Harry Kane blazing the rebound over from close range. Marc Guehi also had a header cleared off the line on what was one of those nights for Thomas Tuchel’s men.
READ: ‘Not a disaster’ but England given big ‘reality check’ in Ghana draw
England remain top of Group L, but must now wait until their final game against Panama to ensure qualification to the knockout phase.
And speaking after the game, Tuchel couldn’t believe that Kane did not find the target on a tough night for his side.
The German told BBC Sport: “Normally, a clear goal for us. It’s a big chance and then another chance. It would’ve been deserved.
“We knew it would be difficult. They went even more defensive than in the first match; they defended in a 4-5-1. We found our intensity the longer the half went but we couldn’t get the reward.
“We were very good at defending the counter-attacks for most of the match. We have to pay a huge amount of attention to that. Subs were very good.”
Declan Rice calls on more from England
Midfielder Declan Rice, meanwhile, tried to remain upbeat after admitting England failed to hit anywhere near the heights of the Croatia win.
The Arsenal man added: “It is always difficult when you play against 11 behind the ball as deep as they were, but you have to find solutions. In the last 10 minutes we were unlucky not to score.
“We still have a great chance to top the group against Panama so positivity all round. They were very compact, 5-4-1 off the ball and tight spaces to play through, but on the other hand we can do more with the ball.
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“You have to give credit to Ghana. It’s tough and they are good players so it was never going to be an easy game. We have one more group game to top the group so we have to be positive.
“Loads of top nations draw the first game so there is no need to be negative or downbeat. We will stay positive.”
Meanwhile, Jordan Pickford admitted England should still be happy with the position they find themselves in, despite a frustrating contest in Boston.
The Everton star added: “We knew it was going to be tough against Ghana. We knew they would play counter-attacking football. They were really hard to break down, we had our chances and we had to be wary of counter attacks, but that’s football and we needed to get the first goal.
“They played a good game, but we have got to be happy. We’re still top of the group, now focus on Panama and top the group. Ghana have players like Semenyo so you have to be ready to be called upon and that’s what I felt I did.
“We would’ve loved to win the game, but we have not lost. It’s tournament football and still in our hands to top the group. You play different teams every game and we just needed that goal, it’s as simple as that. We limited them to so little chances.
“We never managed to get that goal, but that’s football.”
Source: Football365.com | Read the Full Story…
