The Lions Den: Ghana frustrate toothless England

England began their World Cup campaign last week with what was on paper their toughest game in the group. 

Thomas Tuchel’s side met Croatia to kick off their tournament last Wednesday evening, and the Three Lions got off to the perfect start.

We seemed nervous in the first half, that’s not to be unexpected of course, it is after all the biggest tournament in national football, but loose passes and general sloppiness in and out of possession where key themes in the first 45 minutes.

England took the lead twice through Harry Kane but were pegged back on both occasions by two superb Croatia goals, one of which was virtually the last kick of the half. 

With the scoreline sitting at 2-2 going into the break, improvement was needed.

Just two minutes into the second period, the country’s prayers were answered, with Jude Bellingham scoring to put us back in the lead. 

The 22 year old certainly has his critics, but I have to say, if there’s one player I’d want on the pitch when we need a goal, it would be the Real Madrid star, he definitely picks his moment and isn’t afraid of being the game changer.

The match was flipped on it’s head after that, England dominated the second half, and got their reward in the 85th minute, with Marcus Rashford scoring off the bench to seal the win and the three points to get us off and running in the groups.

After Rashford came on to secure the win, I thought for sure he would start against Ghana on Tuesday evening, especially after Anthony Gordan put in a pretty uninspiring performance. 

But no, Tuchel once again selected the new Barcelona man over the old one.

There is an argument to suggest that our manager is preserving some of his players for the knockouts, but we’re not through the group yet, so I can’t understand why he wouldn’t rest in the final game against Panama.

The Ghana game gave me flashbacks to some of the football we played under Southgate at times, boring and uninspiring. 

I’m not criticising Gareth, I thought he did a lot of good for the team, but there were moment where we played awful football and couldn’t break through a tough defensive unit, and Tuesday was a throwback to those days.

It was pretty clear after about 10 minutes that Ghana’s game plan was to sit with ten men behind the ball and play with a low block, which worked to great effect. 

There’s not really many highlights from the game to discuss, other than the fact it was a 0-0 draw, which put us top of the group, only on goal difference.

It almost as if we were missing a player like Cole Palmer, Phil Foden or maybe even Trent Alexander Arnold to lace one from outside the box and beat the low block. 

Something tells me that won’t be the last time we have to talk about Tuchel’s squad selection this World Cup.

One thing I did notice from the first few games was the effectiveness of the hydration breaks for some teams, which has also been highlighted by Tuchel and other managers so far. 

It seems as though the break midway through each half can benefit a team, especially if they’re constantly in their own half defending in a low block.

It has tactically changed games and given teams the chance to catch their breath. 

The breaks certainly have their critics, I’m not sure where I fall on it, but ultimately, there are games in the hotter conditions where protecting the players will be paramount, so in those games, I think they’re essential.

England play their final group game on Saturday night against Panama, swapping a 9pm UK kick off time with an even more unsociable 10pm. 

You’d think that with a win and a draw, even if the worst happens and we lose that, we would still head through as a third place team.