England's tournament woes reappear in Ghana draw
Joe Prince-Wright breaks down Ghana's defense bowing up to hold England to a draw, explaining how this is "nothing new" for the Three Lions as they caught a bad streak of crossbar luck and should get back on track.
Video Transcript
Hello from Boston after England 0, Ghana 0.
Key takeaways from what was a very disappointing draw for England is that it just wasn't quick enough.
There was real lack of creativity.
There was no cutting edge.
I mean, they had some huge chances in the second half there where Harry Kane blazed a great chance over after Nico O'Reilly's header hit the crossbar and came down.
Just spoke to O'Reilly, in the mix zone after this game, and he was disappointed, of course, that didn't go in.
We've seen him do it so many times at Man City.
but the youngster was saying that England are positive and, you know, they can't let perspective get out of the way of this, that they're still in a really good position.
Jude Bellingham said the same.
Eberechi Eze said the same.
And he said, "We're still gonna enjoy this.
We're still okay, four points after two games."
And then obviously they have a game against Panama in New York on Saturday, which they will be the heavy favorites for.
But this always seems to happen, happen to England, right, in these major tournaments.
Second game, sort of syndrome, Jude Bellingham mentioned that.
So there's nothing new here for England.
The general vibe and atmosphere here in Boston was that you didn't hear much of it's coming home.
There wasn't too many over-the-top celebrations from the, England fans in the city before, during, and after the game.
Wasn't much to celebrate during the game.
but I think there is sort of a, just a realization that this is a different kind of England team right now.
It's gonna be a long journey.
There's gonna be tough moments like this along the way.
But you have to say, hats off to Ghana, great defensive display.
Carlos Queiroz put a great plan.
His players worked so hard.
Goalkeeper was great, defended.
They just seemed to really enjoy, the defensive side of the game.
and I think, yeah, as people are filling out, into the streets here in Boston behind me, there's a general appreciation from the England fans and players, fans were celebrating with the, the Ghana, fans afterwards as well, and enjoying themselves on a great day.
because I think you have to, put your hand up and say, that was a great defensive display from Ghana today.
and England, it just didn't quite happen for them, and Jude Bellingham said that as well.
He's like, "You know what?
That's football sometimes.
It just happens.
It doesn't quite go for you."
I don't think we should get too carried away with this from an English perspective, because late on, the Saka curler, the O'Reilly header, the Kane chance, one of those goes in.
But that said, England defensively did give Ghana some, big chances on the counter-attack, what they were looking for, and against a really top elite team, England are gonna get picked apart on the counter.
But you will hope that if they do get to the knockout rounds, as it looks like it, they're gonna come up against better teams who will be more open, and that's when England's attacking players get a bit more space to dominate and finish.
So, got a lot of features on the England fans.
Been with them in Boston here for the last few days.
Head over to Pro Soccer Talk on nbcsports.com to read that.
Got a feature on Boston as a city, which has been a wonderful host city.
I'm gonna be here, on Friday for Norway against France, or Haaland against Mbappe, as it's been renamed .
And that's gonna be really fun.
And of course, going to, New York, New Jersey for England against Panama on Saturday as well.
So I'll be covering the Northeast a lot.
England fans will be disappointed for sure, but won't be despairing.
I think they kinda knew this is a work in project, and work in progress under Thomas Tuchel at the moment.
Wasn't ideal, but no one's getting too carried away with this.
And, you know, no one's singing, it's coming home yet.
It's more about the journey, rather than the destination for England.
So disappointing result here for England and Boston.
A great result and performance from Ghana.
And next stop for England, New York City against Panama.
So let's see what happens.
Thanks everyone for joining me.
Great time here in Boston.
Again, read those features on Pro Soccer Talk on nbcsports.com.
I think it can only get better for England from here on out, and that's the main message from here.
They're gonna build into this tournament under Thomas Tuchel.
But, maybe a bit of a reality check that when all is said and done later in the tournament, it will actually do them some good.
That's what most England fans here will be hoping for.
Let's see what happens.
