Jamie Carragher has accused Thomas Tuchel of making a mistake by omitting Cole Palmer from England's World Cup squad, following a disappointing 0-0 draw with Ghana that left the Three Lions struggling to break down a disciplined defence.
England fail to break through against stubborn Ghana
After an emphatic win over Croatia last week, England aimed to seal top spot in Group L with a second consecutive victory. Tuchel made two changes to his starting lineup, bringing in Djed Spence and Marc Guehi for John Stones and Nico O'Reilly. While the defence improved, England lacked creativity and failed to unlock Ghana's organised backline.
Tuchel introduced substitutes in the second half, but the best chance came late when O'Reilly hit the bar with a header and Harry Kane skied the rebound over the crossbar. The result leaves England still favourites to win the group, but questions are mounting over Tuchel's squad selection.
Carragher: Palmer absence a tactical oversight
Speaking at half-time, Carragher told The Telegraph: 'When Bellingham and Rice play between the lines against a defence set up like this, you either need a bit of magic from them outside the box, or the wingers to deliver far more than they are currently doing.'
'That's England's problem here. The longer this goes on, the more we must look to the bench and ask who can come on and make a difference? Rice and Bellingham are all about power and energy; they aren't magicians in the spaces between the lines.'
'If this continues, the debate will start regarding Cole Palmer's absence. We've seen so many games like this in major tournaments. Those who championed Palmer's inclusion foresaw tactical conundrums like this – which is why some of us thought it better to have him as an option.'
Tuchel explains Palmer omission
Palmer's exclusion was the biggest shock when Tuchel announced his squad. The Chelsea star was left out in favour of Jude Bellingham, Morgan Rogers, Eberechi Eze, and Noni Madueke. Tuchel explained: 'I think he suffers from a lack of individual form within his club. He was not as decisive or as influential as he was in the last seasons, throughout the whole season.'
'Second of all, he was not very influential with us. His record with us was just not outstanding, not good enough to make him 'no matter what, he is coming'. That is just the reality of it. He had to pull out injured several times, when he was in camp he did not have the impact that we all wanted to push him for.'
'I can find a lot of arguments to have him in the squad. I respect his quality and his very unique personality, he was never a problem in camp, I think his personality helps him, even in big moments, to not show nerves, and to be decisive. But to have these moments you need also to be in shape, you need to be influential within this group and he has just failed to prove it, on a consistent level.'
'It was one of the most difficult phone calls and obviously one of the most prominent names that we leave out, but I refuse to bring players for the name and I refuse to then play them out of position just to give them something. It is a very difficult and a very hard decision. There is no question about his talent, there is no question what he can give you in special moments, but the decision was still against him.'
Carragher: Reality check but no need to panic
Carragher admitted the performance was a needed reality check but urged calm. 'Back down to earth for England. It's a disappointing performance, but the bigger picture is that the two most difficult games are out of the way. It's actually a decent point because Ghana were unlucky not to have been awarded a penalty. With Panama to come, England are 99 percent certain to win the group.'
'There was probably too much euphoria after the first game. We need to be careful not to go too overboard with criticism for this result, even though there are issues to resolve moving forward.'
England face Panama next, with a win likely to confirm top spot in Group L.
