Thomas Tuchel
England manager Thomas Tuchel has praised Ghanas organisation and resilience after the Black Stars produced a disciplined defensive display to secure a 0-0 draw against the Three Lions in their Group L clash on Tuesday night.
Tuchel admitted his side found it difficult to break through a compact and physically committed Ghana team, despite enjoying long spells of dominance in possession.
England controlled much of the contest but were repeatedly frustrated by Ghanas structured defensive shape and work rate across the pitch, which limited clear scoring opportunities.
“Credit to them. I rarely saw a physical performance like that from a team,” the former Chelsea boss told the BBC.”They defended with 10 players in a deep, deep block, so it made it difficult for us because they were very disciplined and very physical in every position, so it took us a while to break this block down, to find this rhythm.”Everything was our responsibility to find rhythm. At the same time, you need to be careful not to concede counterattacks,” he added.
England finished the match with 79 per cent possession the highest recorded by a team that failed to score in a World Cup match in six decades but could not find a breakthrough against Ghanas resolute backline.
The result leaves both sides level on four points at the top of Group L, setting up a tense final round of fixtures.
England turn their attention to a meeting with Panama, while Ghana face a decisive encounter against Croatia as the race for knockout qualification intensifies.
