England stumbled to a 0-0 draw against Ghana at Boston Stadium in their second Group L match of the World Cup. The result completely stalled the momentum Thomas Tuchel’s squad built after their opening win against Croatia.
The Three Lions controlled the ball with 78 percent possession and fired 19 shots, but they only managed to put three on target. Ghana set up in a deeply disciplined low block and dared England to break them down. They couldn’t. Harry Kane had the clearest opportunity late in the game but skied his shot well over the bar.
The sluggish performance immediately drew fire from former players. Micah Richards criticized the team for a severe “lack of bravery” on the ball. He pointed out that players settled for “too many safe passes” instead of taking risks to force an opening.
Wayne Rooney backed up that assessment. He noted the squad lacked energy and failed to utilize wide areas to get enough crosses into the box. Rooney compared the Ghanaian defensive shape to a typical Carlos Queiroz team performance.
“Me and Joe have experience going out of a World Cup after two games,” Rooney said. “It’s not a disaster at all, qualified for the next round, there’s just little details.”
Joe Hart took a pragmatic angle, saying it wasn’t the worst possible outcome but noted Tuchel has “loads of things to work on.” Alan Shearer labeled the entire outing a reality check as England once again faced their historical “second-game syndrome” at a major tournament.