Former England midfielder Paul Ince has heavily criticized Thomas Tuchel’s tactical approach in England’s draw with Ghana, labelling the display “pedestrian” and “boring”.
Former Manchester United midfielder Ince argued that while the tournament opener against Croatia allowed England’s creative talents to exploit open space in a 4-2, Ghana’s disciplined low block completely stifled Jude Bellingham, Anthony Gordon and Noni Madueke in a 0-0 draw.
Ince insisted that field-testing a defensive pivot of Declan Rice and Elliot Anderson against an opposition that refused to come out completely paralyzed open-play creativity, causing England to fall back on safe, sideways passing.
Total recall for Saka
To break down stubborn tournament defensive blocks, the 53-cap former captain urged Tuchel to immediately recall Arsenal winger Bukayo Saka to the starting line-up.
And Ince wants the German to show greater tactical flexibility by switching to a proactive 4-4-2 setup to partner Harry Kane with Ollie Watkins or Ivan Toney.
During an exclusive conversation with BestBettingSites, Ince said of England:
“If you look at a lot of England’s games in the past – more so under [Gareth] Southgate – when they played against teams who sit deep and don’t come out, they seem to struggle a bit.
“They seem to struggle to break down a low block and defensive teams, history shows that.
“When you look at the Croatia game, Croatia came out to play, which helped benefit England.
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Good performance
“It gave England more space for the likes of Anthony Gordon and Noni Madueke, and room for Jude Bellingham to run into from deep. That first game was a really good performance.
“This match was completely different. Ghana came to try and stop England playing, and there was no space whatsoever.
“I mean, the full-backs were brilliant for Ghana; they stayed tight to Madueke and they didn’t allow Gordon any chance to turn.
“There was no space for Bellingham to run into or for Harry Kane to drop into, which was completely opposite to the first game.
Out of ideas
“When it’s like that, England seems to run out of ideas.
“For me, this is where you need someone like Morgan Rogers – someone who can beat one or two people with a dribble to drag Ghana out of their defensive shape.”
Ince wants Arsenal star Rice to play in a more advanced role, leaving Anderson to provide cover for the back four.
Lack of creativity
The former Liverpool battler added: “I’m not sure why you need to have two holding midfielders when you’re playing against Ghana.
“England had two holding midfielders in Declan Rice and Elliot Anderson, meaning Bellingham couldn’t get in behind. They couldn’t create anything from open play whatsoever.
“I know Rice starts to venture forward a bit, but ultimately you’ve got two central midfield players just sitting there, passing it side-to-side, hoping to get a free-kick or wait for a mistake from Ghana. That’s what I learned.”
Raw pace on the break
When discussing what learnings Tuchel would have taken from the Ghana game ahead of their last group game with Panama, Ince said:
“To hear him say, “It’s a really difficult group and we knew that” was a small concern, as the tournament will only get harder.
“I actually think England look much better against teams that come out and attack them because of the raw pace we have on the break.
“Personally, I’d like to see Bukayo Saka start the next game.
“I don’t fully understand the reason behind Noni Madueke starting ahead of him – maybe it’s a Chelsea connection with Tuchel, and maybe Tuchel likes the chemistry between him and James.
“I think Saka must have been carrying a knock, I don’t know. But let’s see Saka start the next match.”
Change the formation
Ince would like to see Tuchel tinker with the formation if required, saying: “I’m not saying you have to take Harry Kane off, but why not go 4-4-2?
“Change it up, bring Ollie Watkins on, and start getting early balls into the box.
“You’ve got Ivan Toney there, you’ve got Watkins, and at no time did we change the formation to try and proactively win the game. I just think they ran out of ideas.
“There were no combination plays, no quick one-twos around the corners – there was nothing like that.
“When I watch other top nations, I can see exactly what they’re trying to do.
“Sometimes when I watch England, I’m not sure what the plan is.
“It’s so pedestrian, so sideways, and so backward. It was actually a boring game [against Ghana] – to be honest, I nearly fell asleep.”
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Michael Davey