The curse of tournament woe striking again?
Following their thrilling 4-2 win over Croatia on Tuesday, Thomas Tuchel's England were brought firmly down to earth in Boston, held to a dogged and disjointed 0-0 draw against a wonderfully stubborn Ghana. Despite dominating possession and firing in 19 shots to the Black Stars' measly two, the Three Lions could not unlock a defiant African wall.
It was a performance reminiscent of English woes past and cast doubts at precisely the time the supporters felt the spectre of sluggish group-stage fare had been banished forever.
A defiant Black Stars defence
Undoubtedly, Ghana's role in this stalemate must be heavily stressed. This wasn't a team that just rode their luck; it was a team with a ferocity of disciplined defending which effectively neutered England's talented attacking arsenal. Jerome Opoku and Jonas Adjetey formed a resolute central defensive partnership that nullified the threat of Harry Kane completely.
The striker registered just eight touches before half time and failed to build on his ten World Cup goals. Making his England debut the nation’s first goalkeeper from its domestic league to start a World Cup game, Benjamin Asare had to be drafted in to replace the injured Lawrence Ati Zigi.
And while not overly tested on direct shots on target England's crosses were met by assuredly calm hands behind his goal.
Late barrage and frustration
Tuchel rang the changes in an attempt to force a breakthrough, bringing on Bukayo Saka, Nico O'Reilly and Marcus Rashford to support the attack. However, despite all the talk of Rashford finally hitting fitness, the contest was far too disjointed for the super-sub to truly find his flow. The ultimate frustration arrived in stoppage-time; O'Reilly met a perfectly weighted cross only for his emphatic volley to cannon back off the underside of the crossbar.
The rebound fell favourably to Kane but his typically clinical strike flashed agonizingly over the bar, eliciting a collective gasp from 63,000 spectators at Gillette Stadium. Even Ghana might consider themselves unlucky not to snatch all three points.
Substitute Prince Kwabena Adu went on a surging run at the death which he arguably would have converted if it were not for his tangle with England keeperJordan Pickford outside the penalty area. A challenge that on another day could well have seen Pickford handed a red card.
Earlier Konsa went in hard on Adu and committed enough foul play to have arguably warranted a penalty that never came.
Closing in
England top Group L on four points, however it is very far from certain they will top their group. Tuchel needs to encourage an offensive spark in order for England to kick on in the knock out stages.
As for Ghana they can feel very good about this point. They have four points themselves, with another chance of three against Croatia in their final game with a feeling that if their defence plays to the standards set in this match then they will travel very far into the competition.
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