England’s coach Tuchel says Ghana’s defensive wall was toughest he has seen

FOXBOROUGH: England coach Thomas Tuchel said his team had been frustrated by one of the most robust defensive displays he had ever seen in Tuesday’s 0-0 World Cup draw with Ghana, and he urged fans to stay positive.

“I think full respect (to Ghana) and they defended with a lot of determination, with a lot of discipline, and with one of the most physical performances that I saw from a team defending,” the German told reporters.

“We had enough set-pieces to decide the match but we were not clinical enough,” he said, adding that he took more positives from the game than negatives.

Tuchel acknowledged that fans might be frustrated after England failed to repeat the flowing, attacking football of their 4-2 win over Croatia in the opening match of the tournament.

England’s 78.8% possession against Ghana was the highest in records dating back to 1966 by any side in a World Cup match without managing to score.

“If…one team tries to play and run against this deep block and you don’t find the spaces and it’s difficult for you to create chances it can be difficult to watch,” Tuchel said.

“We always try to entertain our fans. It was difficult today. I hope they don’t lose belief. There’s a long way to go,” he added.

Tuchel also said Harry Kane was unlikely to miss as good a chance in the rest of the tournament as the one he blazed over the bar in the 86th minute after substitute Nico O’Reilly hit the crossbar with a header and the ball rebounded perfectly for the England captain.

“Ninety-nine out of 100 he will convert this chance,” Tuchel said.

England have four points from their first two games, almost certainly enough to send them into the first knockout round, and they finish their Group L campaign against Panama on Saturday.