Second game syndrome hits England hard in lacklustre draw against Ghana
After the high of thrashing Croatia with some attacking and proactive football, England were brought down to reality as the second-game syndrome hit Thomas Tuchel’s side hard in Boston during the goalless draw against Ghana. Since the 2018 World Cup, England have failed to win any of their second matches in major competitions.
In the 2020 Euros, they were held to a draw by Scotland and in the 2022 World Cup, another stalemate against the USA. The 2024 Euros was also the same story. When Tuchel came on, one of the things he had to avoid was the mistakes of the Gareth Southgate era. But the Three Lions got sucked into committing the same errors as they failed to break down the low block setup by the Black Stars.
They kept frustrating England with some brave defending and gave them a few scares at the other end. In the end, stats showed England had 19 shots with three on target while Ghana just had one. The possession was tilted heavily in favour of England with 78 percent to their name.
Yet, in the end, England delivered a performance that was underwhelming given the talent at their disposal.
DID TUCHEL GET HIS LINEUP WRONG?
Fans would have tuned in to see the match in Boston after Cristiano Ronaldo’s brilliance in Portugal’s 5-0 win against Uzbekistan. They would have been egged on by also seeing the performance from the Three Lions against Croatia, where they turned on the style with some attacking intent.
So when the team lineups came out, everyone was left wondering if Tuchel made an error. Ghana were always going to hold a low black and England used Anthony Gordon and Noni Madueke on the wings to support Harry Kane.
The only changes came in defence with Djed Spence and Marc Guehi coming in for Nico O’Reilly and John Stones. Right from the start, England dominated possession and tried to breakdown Ghana’s defence. But the issue seemed to be the lack of creativity and trickery from the wings as Kane cut an isolated figure early on.
Tuchel asked his side during the hydration break to go for short passes and then a long one to stretch the Ghanian defence, but the plan simply failed.
Infact, England’s only good effort came from a long-range free-kick which was sent well over the goal by Declan Rice. Both teams registered no shots on target in the first half, a first when it comes to this year’s World Cup, and the frustration was evident as Jude Bellingham had to be taken away by a teammate.
At this point, you would think that changes would be made at half-time just to shore things up.
Yet, Tuchel opted to stick with the same team, with the first change not coming until the 65th minute, when Bukayo Saka and O’Reilly were introduced. The second half did see England try and stretch Ghana a bit, but they never seemed to be tested and kept clearing the balls into the box easily.
Ghana did threaten early in the second half with a run from Marvin Senaya into the box and a cross, but England dealt with it. However, they then quickly returned to their shape and discipline quickly.
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