By Tarn Talk
June 24 2026

If ever there was a performance to bring an England fan back down to earth, it was certainly this one as England stumbled to a drab 0 – 0 draw against Ghana.

It was chalk and cheese from the exciting, free flowing Croatia game but showed that England still have the same issues under Tuchel as they did under Southgate when it comes to breaking down teams that sit deep and compact and have every player behind the ball - I am doing my best to avoid saying ‘low block’ here.

For all England’s possession, they created very little with it. They were too slow and pedestrian and didn’t have the cutting edge to break down a well drilled Ghana team. A set piece was perhaps England’s best chance in such a game, but they were uncharacteristically poor all night.

Kane did have a glorious chance to score and one which he would put away nine times out of ten but that would have been harsh on Ghana who should have had a penalty and caused a few anxious moments on the counter despite barely having a kick.

Now hindsight is a wonderful thing, but I feel both the team selection and squad selection should come under scrutiny for games like this where teams will inevitably sit in and hope to nick one on the counter.

Games like this need someone with a bit of magic who have that creativity. Perfect for Cole Palmer, who despite a poor season, would have been a great option to bring on. With a 26-man squad you can afford to take a maverick like Palmer who may just unlock that door. Jordan Henderson is basically in the squad as a cheerleader so his place could have easily been sacrificed.

Also, I am not the biggest Trent fan in the world. I think he is too poor defensively to play in the knockout stages, but in the group stage against teams like this? It is surely perfect for him. Perhaps he could have gone in place of that 6^th Centre Half that we really need.

Now on to the team selection. Tuchel said prior to the game that he had brought Guehi and Spence in due to their extra pace to combat the pace that Ghana possess on the counterattack. The correct decision if you are making sure you don’t lose the game but in terms of being on the front foot trying to win the game then completely the wrong decision. I feel here he has given Ghana far too much respect and should be more proactive in terms of what England can do.

With Spence at left back in place of O’Reilly, we lost all forward momentum down that side. Yes, Spence is better defensively but offers nothing going forward when playing on his weaker side and in a game when we are going to have the vast majority of the ball then O’Reilly should be playing.

The same applies in the case of Stones. Surely that is why he has been picked. To play against teams like this where we are going to have all the ball. One of the reasons we were so flat and one paced is because we didn’t have Stones passing ability in the back line. When England play well going forward, it is when Stones is playing well in terms of his forward passing from the back. Watch any England game back and you will see that this is the case.

The midfield and forward line are another story altogether and we could concentrate on who’s not there, such as Palmer but let’s concentrate on who is and I think selection could have been better in that regard too.

At some point during the tournament I think we are all expecting Saka and Rashford to come in for Madueke and Gordon so I will leave that parked for now.

Anderson, Rice and Bellingham are the obvious midfield starters in the big games, I don’t dispute that. But should they be in every game? Should they be against certain opponents? Is there a case for Rogers to come in for Bellingham? Or possibly Rogers to come in with Bellingham dropping deeper and Rice or Anderson making way? Absolutely there is.

As for Kane, I have seen a lot of lazy journalism from the country’s top newspapers simply saying, ‘off night, dropped too deep.’ Off night for sure but dropped too deep – no chance. It is just what is always said about him when he doesn’t score.

And I am not saying he never dropped deep as he always does and always will but in this one, he stayed high which is why he had a poor game and so few chances, so few touches and such little impact on the game.

He had no choice to as there was no space for him to drop in to as it was so congested, and it was the same at the last Euros against the many opponents we played that set up in the same way.

I know a lot of people say Kane should stay up front and not drop deep but that is the biggest load of rubbish I hear. Just like when Stones plays at the back, England play their best football when Kane is dropping deep and creating and has runners beyond him. He is by far and away our most creative player as well as best goal scorer. The problem is when it is not possible for him to drop deep like in games like last night then what is the solution?

Obviously, you can’t drop him as he is the one man who might score out of nowhere and then if it backfired as a manager, you would get pelters.

And I am not suggesting he should be dropped as I believe he should be the first name on the team sheet in any game and am sensible enough to realise that when he does have an off day it is mainly due to poor service into him and the tactics employed by both teams.

Instead, a change to the defence and midfield setup as mentioned earlier could provide a different dimension, but I also have another potential alternative that would be worth trying, particularly against opponents like Ghana and probably Panama.

Kane isn’t the type of striker to run in behind and Ghana didn’t offer much space to run in behind. There will however always be the odd moments in games like that where it is possible and Watkins would be the man to do it. And the man in the current squad most likely to find him with that clinical pass is Kane. So, another option would be Watkins up top and Kane in the number ten role. Whether from the start or as a second half adjustment, it is something that could certainly work against teams like Ghana or at the bare minimum is worth a go.

Panama will offer a similar test to Ghana so this will tell us a lot about Tuchel. Can he adapt from one game to the next or will he continue to pick the same type of team as Southgate did in the last Euros? It scraped us to the final, but Tuchel has been brought in to take us over the line and now is the time for him to show why he was hired.

Come on England.

England 0 – 0 Ghana – Match Analysis

Discussion started by Lions of England (IP Logged), 24/06/2026 14:12

Lions of England
24/06/2026 14:12

What do you think? You can have your say by posting below.
If you do not already have an account Click here to Register.

Reply Quote Report

Forum List Message List Search Log In

Your Name:
Subject:

We record all IP addresses on the Sportnetwork message boards which may be required by the authorities in case of defamatory or abusive comment. We seek to monitor the Message Boards at regular intervals. We do not associate Sportnetwork with any of the comments and do not take responsibility for any statements or opinions expressed on the Message Boards. If you have any cause for concern over any material posted here please let us know as soon as possible by e-mailing abuse@sportnetwork.net