England struggled to break down Ghana’s low block, drawing 0-0 after their fast start against Croatia with a 4-2 victory.
The Three lions still find themselves top of Group L as things stand on four points, with a win against Panama likely to be enough to secure top spot.
However, as expected, this was the exact sort of fixture that was bound to bring around pressure from the media regarding Thomas Tuchel’s squad selection.
With the likes of Cole Palmer, Phil Foden, Adam Wharton and Trent Alexander-Arnold being left at home, England will have to find different ways of breaking down these stubborn defences.
In this article, we’ll cover
Low block issues
Ghana set up in a 4-5-1 defensive block, doing well to block off any passes between the lines and protecting the centre.
England set out to exploit Ghana in wide areas, using their full-backs with slight narrower start positions to drag the Ghana wingers infield.
This left switches of play open to the wide men, extending the distances for the Ghana help defenders to get across, leaving the wingers in temporary 1v1 isolations with the full-back.
England had little presence between the lines, as Declan Rice and Jude Bellingham would often drop towards the ball, leaving little stress on the Ghana back four.
This is where the criticism for Tuchel’s selection has come from, not only in terms of overall squad selection, but also his starting XI against Ghana.
Against a side like Ghana, one way of getting around the lack of presence between the lines would’ve been to start Eberechi Eze or Morgan Rogers instead of Rice.
The best chances of the game came from the full-backs, with Djed Spence combining with Anthony Gordon to find space down the flank.
Ghana’s defensive shape was collapsed due to this, with multiple players coming across to deal with the situation, allowing England to find their way inside and get a shot away.
Nico O’Reilly provided the best chance of the game, giving England more presence in the box from crosses and hitting the bar in the 89th minute.
Reece James providing the cross, O’Reilly climbing to win the header and then Harry Kane arriving to miss the rebound in an uncharacteristic fashion.
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Reserved rest defence
Now the usage of full-backs being England’s best chances to break the low block is interesting, as Tuchel clearly had a reserved approach.
Both Spence and James were tucking in to pin the Ghana wide men to isolate the wingers 1v1, but also for rest defence purposes.
By keeping both full-backs outside the block, England were able to protect the half spaces in transition against Ghana’s pacey wide men.
Tuchel then had Ezri Konsa and Marc Guehi doubled up on Jordan Ayew, while Elliot Anderson was floating in front, protecting the centre and tracking midfield runners.
This approach was evident from the get-go, Tuchel didn’t want his side to get burnt in transition, which Anthony Barry alluded to at halftime.
Barry stated “continue to attack with a stable base, because Ghana are a team that have exceptional counter attack options”.
While England clearly prioritised their rest defence, those moments when the full-backs joined attacks with more dynamism was where England looked most likely to break down the low block.
Fixes for Panama?
The good (or bad) news for England, is that Panama is likely to set up in a similar way.
Tuchel will therefore have another chance to break a low block and ease fan concerns against negative game states.
One key change will be the usage of full-backs, whether Tuchel is willing to commit more bodies against Panama.
O’Reilly starting and playing further forward would be an obvious change, giving England more box presence from crosses and better tight space quality between the lines.
Rice could then operate on the outside of the block, but another option would be for Tuchel to start with Eze or Rogers between the lines, with O’Reilly box crashing from full-back.
Eze and Rogers also give the quality of shooting from distance, which can be a valuable asset against deep blocks, forcing saves and at worst, causing chaos to earn set-pieces (another valuable asset against deep blocks).
Another simple change would be for Tuchel to switch the wingers.
By having a left-footed winger on the left and vice versa, it makes it easier to attack on the outside of the block, getting more crosses into the box and earning set-pieces.
This would’ve been a smart change against Ghana, as both wingers struggled to beat their man on the outside, instead often turning into traffic inside.
England will be hoping to find a way past Panama, re installing belief into their World Cup hopes and topping Group L as they were expected to do.
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