Tuchel insists England remains on course, despite goalless Ghana draw

FOXBOROUGH, Massachusetts — England coach Thomas Tuchel admitted his team lacked a cutting edge in its frustrating 0-0 draw with Ghana on Tuesday, but insisted there were plenty of positive signs going forward in England's quest to end it's 60-year World Cup drought.

"It's a long tournament and I think the boys tried everything. They played with the right energy," said Tuchel after the stalemate at Boston Stadium.

"We always try to entertain our fans. It was difficult today, but I hope the fans don't lose belief. There is a long way to go. I just feel I was right that we were in a very difficult group."

England had 79 percent of the possession, but could not break down a determined Ghanaian defense in the Group L contest.

It also lacked the clinical finishing that made the difference in its opening 4-2 win against Croatia in Dallas, having 19 attempts on goal, but managing only three on target.

Manchester City's Nico O'Reilly hit the bar late on, after coming off the bench, and Harry Kane blazed the rebound over the bar, summing up the day's frustration for England.

"It fell to him, and 99 times out of 100 he takes that chance. If he converts his chance, maybe we would be talking now about the patience, discipline and performance," added Tuchel.

"But, now, it is 0-0, and maybe the headlines are a little different. We had enough set-pieces to decide the match, but we were not clinical enough."

The German said that it was "just natural" to rely on Kane, who was unable to add to his two goals against Croatia and move ahead of Gary Lineker as his country's all-time top scorer at World Cups.

Tuchel also admitted that the match could serve as a "reality check", even if the outcome is hardly problematic for England — it has four points from two games, and a win against Panama in New Jersey on Saturday will clinch the group.

'VAR went for a coffee'

"This is a difficult, difficult team to play against. None of us thought there was an easy match ahead of us, but there were a lot of things that were much better than against Croatia.

"It is just not the same result or excitement, but it takes two to tango," Tuchel added in a nod to Ghana's defensive approach.

England remains unbeaten against African opponents at World Cups, but the Black Stars were clearly delighted with the point which keeps them on course to make the knockout phase for the first time since they got to the quarterfinals in 2010.

"Football is not only about possession. It is also about having the right attitude," Ghana coach Carlos Queiroz said, as his team built on its opening 1-0 victory against Panama.

"We celebrated because we got a draw against a team who are one of the favorites to win the World Cup."

His team also has four points before heading to Philadelphia next to take on Croatia.

"You have to pay a high price to get points. Probably because we are in the US, where everything is expensive," he joked.

However, the former Real Madrid and Portugal boss also felt his team should have had a penalty for a late challenge on Prince Adu by Ezri Konsa.

Nothing was given by the Honduran referee, and he was not summoned to check the VAR monitor.

"The VAR went for a coffee, which is natural, but it is a clear penalty and a red card," insisted Queiroz.

AFP