World Cup 2026: Ghana a reality check for England but we have to trust Thomas Tuchel, says Paul Merson | football news

Paul Merson says England’s 0-0 draw with Ghana was a “back to reality” for the Three Lions but Sky Sports The pundit insists we have to trust Thomas Tuchel to get it right.

Starting Group L with a thrilling 4-2 win over Croatia, England came crashing back down to earth six days later as their second group game ended in a draw for the fourth tournament in a row.

But the result moves them closer to what is all but guaranteed a place in the round of 32 and while Merson believes Tuchel still has plenty of work to do, he is backing them to go further in the tournament.

Read the full Magic Man’s England verdict below…

‘Ghana provides reality check for England’

It’s back to reality. You won’t score four in every game, but you’ll hope to break them eventually.

Ghana defended really well but we made it easy for them.

It’s something to watch for Tuchel, but you don’t win the World Cup in the second game of the tournament.

That reality check is better before the tournament than after.

‘It was subbuttio football’

Most of the draws in this second game have been against teams that prefer to sit back.

We just find it hard to break the team. It’s really strange, because a lot of our players play for the best teams where everyone has 10 players sitting behind the ball against you.

Football was in Subuto against Ghana. There was not much movement.

Judd Bellingham was in the pocket and looked for the ball a lot, and there were a lot of times they didn’t pass him the ball. When you see Lionel Messi, wherever he is on the field they just play the ball towards him. He plays one touch football and that touch takes two or three players out of the game.

They need to trust Bellingham more and get him the ball. He is a top player and he is in a really good position.

There is a lot of work.

‘The lack of creativity is alarming’

I don’t think we have that guile in midfield.

Elliott Anderson and Declan Rice are very similar players. They don’t spray the ball around the pitch and we haven’t got that passer in the team.

The lack of creativity is alarming. Having so much of the play and not using it, that will be a concern for Tuchel.

You have to move. You have to run off the ball to drag defenders around. The only thing that beats a defense is movement – but credit where it’s due, Ghana defended admirably. Every time we had a chance to score, three or four players blocked the ball.

However, you’re looking at Cole Palmer and Phil Foden after results like this – and that shouldn’t be the case.

Do we trust Tuchel?

We have to trust the manager.

There are always ups and downs.

Croatia took us on and got punished, but Ghana will never do that. Panama will not take us.

We need to have more faith. But we didn’t take enough chances, and I thought this team was picked to have no fear.

I don’t see him resting many players with the team against Panama now.

England will have to go again. They now need some consistency after a bit of a bump in the road and that means they don’t want to be disrupted by five or six changes.

They will not want another sloppy performance and will be looking to move into the last 32 on the back of a confident performance.