England were held to a 0-0 draw by Ghana in their second World Cup group stage match on Tuesday, with Thomas Tuchel's side failing to score for the first time in 11 games
11:11, 24 Jun 2026
Chelsea forward Cole Palmer
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Chelsea forward Cole Palmer was excluded from the England World Cup squad(Image: Getty Images)
Jamie Carragher has claimed that Thomas Tuchel will be questioning his choice to exclude Cole Palmer from his England World Cup squad after Tuesday's goalless stalemate with Ghana.
Coming off the back of an emphatic 4-2 victory over Croatia, the Three Lions were aiming to defeat the Black Stars and confirm their progression to the Round of 32 as Group L winners.
However, England found it difficult to penetrate a well-organised and stubborn Ghana defence, who largely maintained their 4-1-4-1 shape and restricted Tuchel's team to minimal clear-cut chances.
While the Three Lions registered 19 attempts, only three troubled the goalkeeper and their finest opportunity came late on, as Nico O'Reilly's header struck the crossbar before Harry Kane blazed the rebound over.
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Predictably, the post-match discussion focused on Tuchel's choice to leave out several high-profile creative players from the 26-man squad, with Chelsea's Palmer amongst those omitted. And former Liverpool and England defender Carragher suspects Tuchel may now consider that a misjudgement.
Speaking at half-time, Carragher told The Telegraph: "When [Jude] Bellingham and [Declan] Rice play between the lines against a defence set-up like this, you either need a bit of magic from them outside the box, or the wingers to deliver far more than they are currently doing.
"That's England's problem here. The longer this goes on, the more we must look to the bench and ask who can come on and make a difference?
Cole Palmer during a Chelsea game
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Cole Palmer during a Chelsea game(Image: George Wood/Getty Images)
"Rice and Bellingham are all about power and energy; they aren't magicians in the spaces between the lines. If this continues, the debate will start regarding Cole Palmer's absence. We've seen so many games like this in major tournaments.
"Those who championed Palmer's inclusion foresaw tactical conundrums like this – which is why some of us thought it better to have him as an option."
While the result sees England remain at the summit of their group before Saturday's meeting with Panama, Carragher believes Tuchel and his squad have received a stark wake-up call.
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He said: "Back down to earth for England. It's a disappointing performance, but the bigger picture is that the two most difficult games are out of the way.
"It's actually a decent point because Ghana were unlucky not to have been awarded a penalty. With Panama to come, England are 99% certain to win the group."