England sleepwalks to 0-0 Ghana draw, Tuchel's headaches persist

Tuesday night in Boston? Tepid is an understatement. England went 57 minutes against Ghana without a shot on target. That's not just bad. That's dismal.

Tuchel shuffled the deck, making five substitutions. Almost worked. Nico O'Reilly hit the bar with a header. Harry Kane, usually so reliable, had an uncharacteristic shocker. Only touched the ball 19 times all game. He even blew a big chance. Not good enough from the captain.

Naturally, the selection calls drew fire. Djordje Spence, a right-back playing on the left, drifted inside. Messed with Declan Rice's space. Midfield looked disjointed. England, same old story, struggled without a natural left-footer in that spot. It's plagued them for tournaments. O'Reilly's overlapping runs? Sorely missed from the whistle.

Defensively, England rode their luck. Ezri Konsa bundled Ghana's Prince Adu down in the box. Confusing offside flag saved him. VAR conveniently ignored it. Then Jordan Pickford went careening into Adu outside his area. Another penalty shout, another lucky escape.

Marc Guehi touched the ball 143 times, more than anyone else. But he couldn't pick a lock, couldn't open up Ghana's defence. Revived the Stones debate, didn't it? Declan Rice and Flint Anderson looked off their game. Anderson completed 89% of his passes, sure, but rarely sent the ball Kane's way. Pointless possession, basically.

Now it's Panama. Tuchel's got the same old selection dilemma. Only this time, there's even less margin for error.