Tuchel: 'We can do things better'

Thomas Tuchel believes there’s plenty of room for improvement for his England team, but also positives to take, from their 0-0 draw with Ghana at the FIFA World Cup 2026.

The Three Lions were held to a point by the Black Stars in their second group stage fixture, after their opponents put in a disciplined defensive performance to keep Tuchel’s team at bay in Boston.

But the England head coach admits that nothing surprised him about the outcome of Tuesday’s game, with Carlos Quieroz’s team providing the stern test he was expecting.

“I saw it coming, I knew this could be a difficult game,” said Tuchel.

“I have hardly seen a team defend so physically and committed like Ghana did, so full credit to them.

“It was difficult to break them down. You need to be patient and precise and in the right moment, you need to be committed and be brave, but you can never for one second open space for counter-attacks. We conceded, I think, only two and they were very dangerous so we were very aware of that.

“I think at the end of the halves, we grew into it and found the rhythm and, of course, fatigue set in.

“We were pushing and pushing - I like the attitude. You need a bit of luck. We had enough shots, we had enough crosses, we had enough set pieces to score the first goal. We had a big chance with Harry.

“They defended so intensely and with so much passion. They were so physical at that point, we knew it would open up the spaces a bit more.

“And then we had fresh legs - they are a bit more tired and you could see they were dangerous in the wide areas and we couldn’t get over the line.”

The squad will now return west to their World Cup base in Kansas City, where focus will switch onto their final group stage game against Panama in New Jersey on Saturday 27 June (10pm BST).

“We can do stuff better, but there’s no concern,” he added.

“He [Kane] had one chance that he never misses and he missed it today. This will not be the first match like this.

“I have some respect also for our group, even the third match against Panama, as they were very good against Ghana.

“Now it’s important to digest and analyse the match. We only have three days now in between.

“Tomorrow will be a recovery day and then two days to prepare, then back in the plane to travel. Of course, we play any match to win it.”