Well, that didn’t last long.
After all the optimism engendered by England’s swashbuckling second-half performance in their 4-2 win against Croatia in Dallas last week, Thomas Tuchel’s team fell to earth with a performance as damp and dank as the New England weather.
Nico O’Reilly crashed a header against the bar late in the game but this was a match in which England looked desperately flat against a Ghana team that gave them a couple of almighty scares and looked stronger as the game wore on.
All England’s fluency and adventure in Dallas had disappeared. What was left was a halting performance that makes it hard to see how this side can compete with sides like France and Spain, who are already hitting their stride and looking like teams highly capable of winning this tournament.
This performance wasn’t quite as bad as the notorious goalless draw with Algeria in Cape Town in 2010 but it was in the same ballpark. It was largely devoid of ambition and bravery. It has been said that the Scotland fans drunk Boston dry during the time they spent here. Judging by England’s performance, the Scots stripped the place of emotion and intensity, too.
England and Ghana now sit joint top of Group L and England face a nervous wait to see if they can get a big enough win over Panama in New York on Saturday to take them to the top of the group and ensure that they play their Round of 32 match in Atlanta, as most had expected them to. Suddenly, that seems far from certain. All the optimism from the win over Croatia has gone up in smoke.
England were desperately flat as they were held to a 0-0 draw by Ghana in Boston on Tuesday
All the optimism around Thomas Tuchel’s men after the win over Croatia has disappeared
Tuchel had treated the England side to a modest evolution after the win over Croatia that won so many plaudits from fans and analysts alike. They were both at the back, which made sense, given England’s vulnerability in that opening game in Dallas. Marc Guehi came in for John Stones. Djed Spence replaced Nico O’Reilly. Anthony Gordon was fortunate to keep his place ahead of Marcus Rashford.
There had been speculation before the game about whether England’s players would shake hands with Ghana’s former Arsenal midfielder Thomas Partey, who has been charged with seven counts of rape by the Metropolitan Police. Spence appeared to withdraw his hand when he passed Partey. Partey denies the allegations.
It was a slow start. Ghana sat off England. England tried to find a way through. Declan Rice whistled a free kick just over the crossbar from 25 yards, Noni Madueke and Reece James began to make inroads on the right and Gordon started to find space on the left. England stretched Ghana as much as they could.
When the hydration break came, England did not need it for hydration because it had been raining most of the morning and it was cold enough for some fans to be wearing sweaters. But Tuchel, who had talked about the change the break makes to the rhythm of a match, used it enthusiastically anyway.
He was animated on the touchline as England’s players gathered round him. He made a couple of points forcefully to Bellingham, who had been one of England’s better performers, and to Gordon. Once play resumed, Madueke became England’s main threat. His willingness to run at the Ghana defence again and again gave Tuchel’s team glimpses of openings.
But the first signs of frustration crept into England’s play, too. Rice, who had desperately been trying to inject urgency and penetration into England’s play, was booked for a foul on Nicholas Opoku and even though the England midfielder was bitterly amused by the decision, the tackle was late and clumsy. The sanction was fair.
Kane had half a chance in time added on at the end of the first half when Rice clipped a first time pass to him inside the area but Ghana smothered the England captain with attention. By the time Kane got a shot away, four Ghana players were surrounding him. One of them blocked it.
A few seconds before the interval, Bellingham left his shoulder in on Opoku as the Ghana defender cleared the ball and the incident angered Ghana boss Carlos Queiroz. The bad feeling lingered. When the whistle blew for half-time, Bellingham and Queiroz appeared to exchange words and there was some finger-pointing and some barging. Things were heating up.
Bellingham was earning his 50th cap and so, at 22 years and 359 days old, he had become the youngest player to reach this milestone for England’s men’s team. No one wanted him to mark it with a disciplinary issue.
Harry Kane missed England’s best chance, blazing over the bar late in the second half
Ghana started the second half confidently and five minutes into it, they created the best chance of the game so far. Marvin Senaya and Gordon watched a long crossfield pass from the Ghana left dropping towards them and Senaya muscled his way in front of the Barcelona winger. He took it on his chest and advanced on goal but his shot was smothered by an England challenge.
Some concern crept in. Ghana had started to play well. England looked like a side that had run out of ideas. There were fewer signs of the verve and fluency that decorated their second half against Croatia, although, on cue, they produced a flowing move that ended with Madueke’s shot being headed away. It was England’s first shot on target. It had taken 57 minutes to muster it.
Both teams had an escape of sorts midway through the half when Prince Adu chased down a through ball and Jordan Pickford raced out to try to clear it. Pickford has a history of reckless challenges and it looked as if he had made another when he and Adu collided just outside the box.
Both men went down in a heap. Ghana appealed for a red card against the goalkeeper but replays showed that neither men had made contact with the ball and that, actually, Adu’s challenge on Pickford was worse than Pickford’s part of the equation. It was a glimpse of how quickly things can go wrong at World Cups.
On the touchline, Tuchel cut a more and more frustrated figure, waving his arms and clutching his hands to his face in despair. He brought on Bukayo Saka for Gordon. Morgan Rogers, Eberechi Eze and Nico O’Reilly came on, too, but still England toiled.
England had another escape 10 minutes from time when Adu burst free down the right and was clean in on Pickford. Ezri Konsa came across and appeared to foul him in the box but Adu was adjudged to have been offside. England were living on their nerves.
They pressed for a winner in the dying minutes but it was not enough. And frankly, it would have been more than they deserved.
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