Thomas Tuchel would not entertain the idea that England needed a wake-up call after their 0-0 draw with Ghana at Foxborough on 23 June 2026. Carlos Queiroz took the opposite line, claiming VAR missed a clear penalty and red card after a late challenge by Ezri Konsa on substitute Prince Adu.

Tuchel's view of the draw

Tuchel was blunt about the reaction. “No, we don’t need a wake-up call. Everyone is alert and everyone is fully committed. There can be no doubt, I can assure that to everyone,” he said.

He also pushed back on any suggestion that England had lacked effort. “It is a long tournament. I think the boys tried everything and again they played with the right energy,” Tuchel added.

The football itself was more frustrating than alarming for England. They had 79 per cent possession, but the game still drifted into a stalemate. Tuchel said his two central defenders were responsible for the build-up and that it became “basically eight against 10,” which made space hard to find.

Harry Kane and Nico O'Reilly both came close late on. O'Reilly hit the crossbar, and Kane's follow-up was England's best chance to break the deadlock.

Queiroz and the VAR row

Queiroz was not interested in soothing language. “Once again, VAR went for a coffee. It's natural, I would like to also take my coffees once in a while, but it was a clear penalty, red card,” he said.

He later argued that the tackle should have brought a second yellow, saying the England player went “with the foot against our player.” That was his read of the incident, and it is the view that drove Ghana's complaint after the game.

The result leaves both sides on four points from two matches. England opened with a 0-0 win over Croatia before the draw with Ghana, while Ghana followed their narrow win over Panama with the stalemate at Foxborough.

England did not get the clean win they wanted, but Tuchel's position is clear: this was not a warning sign, just a difficult game against a physical opponent who made space scarce.

Written by Jack Mercer with AI-assisted research, cross-checked against 3 outlets. How we work →