Thomas Tuchel and England were left with a flat 0-0 draw against Ghana in Boston, a result that felt less damaging on the table than it did on the eye. Alan Shearer called it "absolutely a reality check" and Micah Richards said England "wasn't brave enough", which fitted a night when the attack never really found a rhythm.

England's blunt attack

The numbers were awkward. England had 19 shots but only 3 on target, and they did not manage a shot on target in the first half. Harry Kane also blazed the best chance of the game over the bar, which summed up the lack of clean finishing in front of goal.

Shearer said England "struggled to find the answers tonight" and that they were "too slow". Joe Hart's view was calmer, saying it "could've been worse tonight" and that there were "loads of things to work on", but the performance still left Tuchel with more to tidy up than he would have wanted.

The left side and the stop-start tempo

Tuchel's demand for more intensity was clear enough in his instructions, with "short short short, long switch, then we go" aimed at speeding the game up. That did not happen often enough, and the stop-start feel only made the evening drag more.

The hydration break in the 26th minute came just minutes after the injury stoppage for Jordan Ayew's clash with Reece James, and Shearer was blunt about it: "There's been nearly two minutes already. It seems crazy for the referee not to just say let's have the break now." The frustration in the stands matched the mood on the pitch.

Tuchel's left-side call also came under scrutiny because Anthony Gordon started ahead of Marcus Rashford, even though Gordon posted a 7.24 rating, the best among England's starting attacking players. Rashford had only 7 minutes and a 6.07 rating, so the selection debate is not settled by one night in Boston.

Ghana did their part by keeping the game tight, and Thomas Partey was central to that effort. He returned to the Ghana XI in a charged atmosphere, with England fans also booing during the game, and he still posted a 7.01 rating.

England remain top of Group L on 3 points from 1 match, so this was a performance warning rather than a tournament disaster. The next chance to sharpen the details comes on Saturday night, when Tuchel will be expecting a cleaner, quicker response.

Written by Jack Mercer with AI-assisted research, cross-checked against 6 outlets. How we work →