England need to drop four stars immediately after Ghana reality check | Football | Sport
England have four points from their first two World Cup matches (Image: Getty)
Well, that was all a bit dull, wasn’t it? After the excitement of opening night against Croatia, for the fourth consecutive international tournament, England served up a goalless draw in their second group game against Ghana.
Take nothing away from Ghana. They pressed at the right moments, broke with lightning quick pace, and above all else, defended with their lives. Their job was clear: frustrate England and steal the point that secures qualification. Mission accomplished.
There’s no need for England to rip up the script altogether. No World Cup winner since 2002 has won every single game in the group stage, but Tuesday night’s drab draw in Boston should come as a reality check for Thomas Tuchel.
It was all too samey-samey, which is fine when up against a team like Croatia that will offer space to exploit. But when Ghana were camped on the edge of their box, it presented a challenge that England didn’t have the answer to.
The good news is that if the Three Lions want to win the World Cup, not every match will look like that. The bad news is, their next game probably will, and maybe even the first knockout clash too.
As such, Tuchel has to roll the dice, starting with the wingers. There’s no point in having direct forwards when they’ve nowhere to go, so the first changes ought to be Anthony Gordon and Noni Madueke. They don’t have the technical ability to pick a lock and create something out of nothing.
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Anthony Gordon and Noni Madueke ought to come out of the side vs Panama (Image: Getty)
Bukayo Saka is an automatic starter, with England looking much more threatening following his arrival. Meanwhile, depending on which way you want to go, either Marcus Rashford or Eberechi Eze should be the pick for the left-hand side.
Speaking of the left, the Djed Spence experiment was a bit strange. Nico O’Reilly has thrived for Manchester City playing against the exact type of opponent that sits deep and just wants to defend. His intricate passing and box-crashing ability was exactly what England needed. He’s a dead certainty to come back in on Saturday.
Which leaves one last selection headache: the No.10 position. Jude Bellingham had one of his best matches in an England shirt against Croatia, but was anonymous in Boston. It really wasn’t his type of game, though.
That’s fine, different horses for courses. He’ll come in handy later in the tournament, but Morgan Rogers is certainly better suited to games where the opponent is looking to frustrate. After all, what’s the point in having a 26-man squad if you’re not going to call on those players when needed?
Predicted XI vs Panama: Pickford; James, Konsa, Guehi, O’Reilly; Rice, Anderson, Rogers; Rashford, Kane, Saka
