After the highs of the big 4-2 win against Croatia, England crashed down to earth with an utterly dismal showing against lowly Ghana that could easily have ended in defeat.
This was an afternoon of clueless and witless football in the Boston rain. By the end, with Ghana growing in confidence, England were happy to take a draw. Football Editor IAN LADYMAN was at the Boston Stadium to run the rule over Thomas Tuchel’s side – here are the game’s big talking points.
WAS THIS EURO 2024?
Let’s be clear about this. If this had been a Gareth Southgate performance from the last Euros, they would have been throwing beer cups on to the pitch at the end. This was no better than all that rubbish we sat through in Germany two summers ago and if it’s repeated against a decent side, England will be home early.
England took almost an hour to register a shot on target against a team ranked 64th in the world. It simply has to be a wake-up call. Not every team will come out and attempt to play football with you like Croatia did. Patience and intelligence is the key for England and they didn’t show enough of it.
With Elliot Anderson giving away needless free-kicks trying to win the ball back when it wasn’t possible, Declan Rice earning a daft booking and Jordan Pickford racing from goal to clatter an opponent, this was not a Tuchel England team we recognised and the manager has to take his share of responsibility. The big calls he made – such as Djed Spence replacing Nico O’Reilly – didn’t work.
‘It’s not easy against these teams,’ said Rice afterwards. It certainly isn’t when you play like this.
Jordan Pickford was lucky to get away with a tackle on Ghana’s Prince Adu
Djed Spence was brought in for Nico O’Reilly at left back – and the move did not work
GORDON TWO STRIKES AND OUT
Tuchel got his team selection wrong here and then took too long to make changes. He didn’t make a change until the 65th minute, and here Anthony Gordon was the best example.
Gordon is in this team to provide directness and pace, a contrast to the more intricate wide play from Noni Madueke or Bukayo Saka on the other side. He failed to do that in Dallas and should have been replaced by Marcus Rashford for this game.
But here he was again and there was nothing in terms of improvement. We should not see him as a starter again for a while. It seems from the outside as though Gordon, now of Barcelona, has lost a little confidence. Every time he found himself one-on-one with his full back, Gordon seemed unwilling to go by him on the outside and stretch the Ghana defence.
Every time Gordon cut back inside it enabled the opposition to reset and regroup. Gordon is in this team to be dynamic and he isn’t coming good on that.
‘We were too safe and too slow,’ said Alan Shearer on the BBC afterwards. He could well have been talking solely about England’s left winger.
Every time Anthony Gordon cut back inside it enabled the opposition to reset and regroup. Gordon is in this team to be dynamic and he isn’t coming good on that
Bukayo Saka was eventually brought on for Gordon and offered spark – but it was too little, too late
WHERE WAS THE SAFE-BREAKER?
Tuchel won’t look backwards and has explained the reasons for selecting this squad. But in a tight game like this England desperately needed a player like Cole Palmer to try and unlock a door, especially when their set-pieces – which broke down the Croatian defence – were so woeful here.
Tuchel has a squad of 26 here and it has real depth to it. But it also has people like Dan Burn and Jordan Henderson in it. Are they going to come on and change a game for England? They really aren’t.
When he looked at his bench here, Tuchel saw some like for like replacements. But where is the player who just brings something a little bit different?
Tuchel could never pick Phil Foden. His form just wasn’t good enough last season. But the truth is that if Palmer was in this squad, he would have been on as a sub here.
Phil Foden (left) wouldn’t have made a difference here but Cole Palmer (right) definitely would. Instead he is sat at home, watching along with the rest of us
Thomas Tuchel has found space for Jordan Henderson and Dan Burn in this squad – but they are not going to come on and change a game for England
LET’S THANK VAR FOR ONCE
The VAR officials at this tournament seem unwilling to get involved and that’s refreshing. They are sticking to the original principles of only correcting clear and obvious errors. The Premier League could look and learn.
Nevertheless, England were desperately lucky on two occasions here. Their defending wasn’t good enough against Croatia and they looked desperately uncertain at times against Ghana. It’s a worry.
Pickford was lucky that the decision went his way when he sped from goal like a crazy puppy to collide with Prince Adu. The Everton goalkeeper does not inspire confidence at the moment.
Later on, Ghana should definitely have had a penalty after Ezri Konsa brought down the same player and that was a moment that had chaos written all over it. In the BBC studio in Salford, refereeing analyst Darren Cann admitted that VAR should have intervened.
Ghana should definitely have had a penalty after Ezri Konsa brought down Prince Adu and that was a moment that had chaos written all over it
BELLINGHAM INFLUENCE GROWS
In certain periods of the second half in particular, Tuchel’s team were a bag of nerves. With Gordon sleeping as Marvin Senaya got off his shoulder to almost sneak in and Madueke playing two consecutive passes straight out of play, England were self-sabotaging at times.
In the midst of all this, Bellingham emerged as the one player who didn’t appear as though the whole thing was getting on top of him. It’s in situations like this that your big players have to lead, whether they are wearing the captain’s armband or not.
Twice in that difficult period of the game, Bellingham made crucial tackles as Ghana attempted to break. Then, when England did very occasionally look dangerous, Bellingham was more often than not involved.
The 22-year-old – winning his 50th cap – has started this World Cup the right way. Others need to step up and follow now.
