Tuchel calls for calm after England struggle in Ghana draw | OneFootball

Thomas Tuchel says England fans do not need to be worried despite his side’s drab draw with Ghana.

England drew 0-0 in their second game of the World Cup, but still sit top of their group and face Panama in their final game of the group stages, with the chance to confirm their place as group winners.

“Don’t worry,” England boss Tuchel said when asked if he had a message for the supporters after the draw with Ghana. “We will always try to win games. We tried today.

“I think the intensity, energy and team spirit is clearly there. Everyone tried and pushed.

“We play in a very difficult group. We had a difficult first match and a difficult second match. I saw other matches that are not at this kind of level in the second group match so this is what it is.

“Panama will not be easy. They are maybe unknown but they were very, very good against Ghana so it is a difficult group and we knew it. It tests us in many different ways which will help us once we go into the knockouts.”

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Harry Kane spurned a golden chance to win the game for England late on when he fired over from a few yards out after Nico O’Reilly had hit the bar with a header.

But the Three Lions struggled to break down Ghana’s stubborn defensive block for much of the game, and the underdogs also had chances of their own on the counter attack.

“It’s only one match,” Tuchel stressed, however. “It’s difficult to constantly attack a deep block and create intensity, so the intensity comes maybe from a mistake or counter pressing.

“We were very cautious not to concede counter attacks and once we grew into the game, we got better and better and we had the half chances, corners, free-kicks, but we were not as clinical or as determined today with the set pieces.

“This is not the first football match where a team struggles to break the other down.

“They (Ghana) defended brilliantly individually and as a collective and were very intense in one on ones. It is difficult to break a team down like that and it was difficult for us.”