England coach Tuchel says Ghana defensive wall was toughest he has seen

England coach Thomas Tuchel says his team was frustrated by one of the most robust defensive displays he has ever seen in Tuesday’s 0-0 World Cup draw with Ghana, and has urged fans to stay positive.

“I think full respect [to Ghana] and they defended with a lot of determination, with a lot of discipline, and with one of the most physical performances that I saw from a team defending,” the German said.

“We had enough set-pieces to decide the match but we were not clinical enough,” he said, adding that he took more positives from the game than negatives.

Tuchel acknowledged fans might be frustrated after England failed to repeat the flowing, attacking football of their 4-2 win over Croatia in the opening match of the tournament.

England’s 78.8% possession against Ghana in Boston was the highest in records dating back to 1966 by any side in a World Cup match without managing to score.

“If one team tries to play and run against this deep block and you don’t find the spaces and it’s difficult for you to create chances it can be difficult to watch,” Tuchel said.

“We always try to entertain our fans. It was difficult today. I hope they don’t lose belief. There’s a long way to go.”

Tuchel said Harry Kane was unlikely to miss as good a chance in the rest of the tournament as the one he blazed over the bar in the 86th minute after substitute Nico O’Reilly hit the crossbar with a header and the ball rebounded perfectly for the England captain.

“Ninety-nine out of 100 he will convert this chance,” Tuchel said.

England have four points from their first two games, almost certainly enough to send them into the first knockout round, and they finish their Group L campaign against Panama on Saturday.

England failed to get a single shot on target for almost an hour but hit the bar late in the game.

It was the first match at this World Cup where neither team managed a shot on target in the first half with Ghana content to sit back and give possession to their opponents while working hard to close down spaces around the box.

England, who failed to build on their 4-2 opening win over Croatia, managed their first shot on goal just before the hour mark and hit the bar before Kane sent the rebound over the bar.

Also on Tuesday (early hours of Wednesday in SA), Croatia netted a second-half goal from substitute Ante Budimir to beat Panama 1-0 for their first points of the World Cup in a high-stakes Group L clash that eliminated the Central American side.

On a night in Toronto when Croatia captain Luka Modric became the second European to earn a 200th cap, the Balkans side broke the deadlock when Budimir, alone at the back post, converted a deep cross in the 54th minute.

Croatia, who struggled to assert their dominance in the first half, nearly doubled their lead moments later when Marco Pasalic broke through alone but he could not beat the Panama goalkeeper and then skied the rebound.

Both sides were desperate for points after a draw earlier between England and Ghana meant the losers would have no hope of reaching the knockout round.

In Group K on Tuesday (early hours of Wednesday in SA) Colombia secured their place in the round of 32 with a game to spare after a 1-0 victory over Democratic Republic of Congo, with Daniel Munoz scoring the winner after the South Americans had been frustrated for much of the evening.

Colombia moved to six points from two matches and guaranteed their progress to the knockout stage ahead of their final group game against Portugal, who beat Uzbekistan 5-0 earlier on Tuesday. DR Congo remained on one point and will need a result against Uzbekistan to keep their qualification hopes alive.

Colombia dominated possession at Estadio Guadalajara and created the better chances throughout but were repeatedly denied by goalkeeper Lionel Mpasi, who produced a series of saves to keep out efforts from James Rodriguez, Luis Diaz and Jhon Arias.

The breakthrough finally arrived in the 76th when Juan Quintero’s pass found Munoz surging into the penalty area and the defender fired a low shot that took a deflection on its way past Mpasi.

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