Thomas Tuchel has dismissed suggestions England were handed a World Cup wake-up call after being held to a goalless draw against Ghana and called on supporters not to lose belief in his side.
Match highlights and near misses
The substitute Nico O'Reilly came closest to breaking the deadlock four minutes before the end of normal time when his header struck the crossbar, with Harry Kane blazing the follow-up over. But Ghana were full value for a point and might have won if the Honduran referee, Said Martínez, had ruled against Ezri Konsa after he appeared to bring down the substitute Prince Kwabena Adu inside the England penalty area during the second half.
Tuchel's response to criticism
Tuchel admitted frustration at England not being able to find a goal after having almost 80% of possession but refused to panic given they have an opportunity to finish top of Group L if they defeat Panama in New Jersey on Saturday. “We don't need a wake-up call,” the manager said. “Everyone is alert and everyone is fully committed. There can be no doubt. I can assure that to everyone else. There was no overconfidence in our game. Not at all. If there was anything, there was maybe in some moments a bit of over-cautious. It is what it is. But we have four points out of two matches and still a match to play. And we are able to win our last match and we will try to win it, of course. It is very important that the highs don't get too high and the lows get not too low. And today is not a low, it is just a difficult match.”
Fan expectations and tournament context
Asked whether he understood the disappointment of some supporters after England's excellent performance in the 4-2 win over Croatia in their opening match, Tuchel said: “It's a long tournament. The boys tried everything. They played with the right energy. I know it's a very different game. Sometimes, in this case, one team tries to play and run against this deep block. You don't find the spaces and it's difficult for you to create chances. It can be difficult to watch. It's not as exciting as two teams trying to win it in a more open game. We always try to entertain our fans but it takes two to tango.”
Historical pattern and captain's view
This is the fourth major tournament in a row in which England have drawn their second match – starting with a 0-0 draw against Scotland at Euro 2020. Kane was also upbeat about the result despite failing to move ahead of Gary Lineker in England's all-time list of World Cup finals scorers. “We're in a great position,” the captain told the BBC. “I spoke before about major tournaments: you chunk it up into two separate tournaments. First is the group stage, making sure you get through, and hopefully we can finish with a win and finish top. And then comes the second tournament, which is the knockout stage. We've almost done part one. We recover now with a quick turnaround and look forward to getting back out there.”
Ghana's frustration and penalty controversy
The Ghana manager, Carlos Queiroz, felt his side deserved at least a point for their “bravery, courage and perseverance” and was adamant they should have been awarded a penalty for the foul on Adu. “They might have been better than us in the first half but we were better than them in terms of fighting spirit,” he said. “We had opportunities to win it in and I'm not sure if VAR is still working. It was a clear penalty.”
Bellingham altercation
The former assistant to Sir Alex Ferguson at Manchester United also revealed he exchanged heated words with Jude Bellingham at half-time after the Real Madrid player's late challenge on Jerome Opoku. “My intention was to tell him to cool down with that tackle,” he said. “He swore and that created a bit more tension. But it's just football – he had one word that carried a bit of fire but we are professionals and we were able to cool down. This isn't dancing where you wear tuxedos, it's football.”
