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Just how much panic is appropriate after a poor performance at the World Cup? It’s a question begged both by England’s dreary 0-0 draw with Ghana and the studiously calm response to it from Thomas Tuchel and his squad.
Declan Rice told the media after the game that there was “no need to be negative or downbeat,” while Djed Spence added that it was “important to put things into perspective.” Given that quite a few teams have won the World Cup after disappointing early results, it’s not an unreasonable point – but in the face of evidence that England have some serious issues to iron out, perhaps it’s possible that the Three Lions are a little too relaxed.
The Ghana game was no disaster - but there are reasons to be fearful
England had 19 shots on goal - 1.36xG's worth of chancesplaceholder image
England had 19 shots on goal - 1.36xG's worth of chances | Getty Images
Argentina, of course, lost their opening group stage game against Saudi Arabia in Qatar before winning the tournament. Spain lost their first match against Switzerland in 2010. West Germany took an 8-3 pasting at the hands of Hungary back in 1954 only to end up beating them in the final. Put in its proper historical context, a 0-0 draw against Ghana isn’t really worth fussing over.
On paper, at least. The result didn’t put too much of a dent in England’s chances of topping Group L but the performance suggested a number of concerns, even if Tuchel and his players have been keen to avoid negativity in the aftermath.
“We don’t need a wake-up call,” Tuchel said in his post-match press conference. “Everyone is alert and everyone is fully committed. There can be no doubt… It is very important that the highs don’t get too high and the lows get not too low. And today is not a low, it is just a difficult match.”
Another fair comment, in many ways, but it would ring more true if that ‘difficult match’ hadn’t so closely resembled several of the Three Lions’ less edifying performances since Tuchel took charge. Good teams have bad days, but England seem to have structural flaws which Ghana were able to take advantage of.
Just as the first half against Croatia last week exposed England’s weakness against the high press despite the final result, the game against Ghana provided further proof of their impotence against a disciplined low block. The blueprint for beating England is starting to come together – defend deep and narrow, put the back four under pressure on the ball or on the counter-attack, and they will likely struggle.
Their failure to break Ghana’s deep-set defence down wasn’t a one-off. England made heavy weather of getting past New Zealand’s low block in the warm-up games and it was a similar story against Uruguay back in March. Even Andorra were able to make life far more difficult than it should have been during qualifying, simply by sitting back and demanding that England find creative ways to goal.
When there is space to exploit, England can be lethal. When the final third is congested, they typically get bogged down and struggle to get Harry Kane on the ball. England’s greatest ever goalscorer had just 19 touches and one meaningful chance against Ghana, and England lacked the technical quality and creative vision to get him open more frequently.
Tuchel’s decision to pair Spence with Anthony Gordon down the left flank didn’t help. With two right-footed players out wide, England were only ever able to turn back into the traffic and play into Ghana’s hands. Tuchel was clearly content for his side to be patient and to pass the ball around the back as they probed for an opening, but they seldom showed the capacity to create openings for themselves. They relied on mistakes that never came, all while looking distinctly nervy when tested at the back by Ghana’s counter-attacks.
England should stay calm - but must also acknowledge the need to improve
England remain top of Group L on goal differenceplaceholder image
England remain top of Group L on goal difference | Getty Images
Despite all that, England’s level-headed response to a disappointing display is admirable enough. The last thing that they need to do is to enter a spiral of doom, gloom and self-doubt. Focussing on what they did well – their utter dominance of possession and territory, for instance – is likely the best psychological path forward.
So long, at least, as it is paired with a willingness to acknowledge and work on their faults. England need to find ways to be more incisive in possession against deep defences or they will have a hard time winning the World Cup – while stronger teams in the latter stages of the tournament are unlikely to set up in a low block from the start, the thought of this squad chasing an equaliser in the dying minutes is not an encouraging one.
They also need to become far calmer in defence. Against Croatia, Tuchel criticised his side’s “fearful” play in the first half and he again noted that England were “over-cautious” against Ghana, and the most worrying consequence of that palpable nervousness has been a string of jittery moments at the back. England could easily have lost on Tuesday when Ezri Konsa got away with a tackle in the box which looked an awful lot like a foul.
The sentiment that England shouldn’t get too downhearted, which was echoed by many members of the squad, is true enough at its core. They were, after all, still the better side against Ghana and the most important thing is that they remain in a strong position to win their group and progress in the tournament – but optimism shouldn’t come at the cost of failing to fairly assess their own flaws.
Tuesday’s 0-0 draw shouldn’t engender a sense of panic in the squad or among their supporters, but it’s somewhat concerning to hear Tuchel suggest that England “don’t need a wake-up call.” Just because teams often win the World Cup after a bad game in the group stage doesn’t mean that England will do the same thing – either they find ways to fix their flaws, or a seventh decade of hurt is in the offing.
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