World Cup 2026: England boss Tuchel tells fans 'don't lose belief' after frustrating draw with Ghana

Thomas Tuchel said he hopes England fans "don’t lose belief" after being held to a frustrating goalless draw with Ghana at the 2026 World Cup. England got their Group L campaign off to a blistering start with a 4-2 win against Croatia last week. But with Ghana content to sit deep, England failed to find a breakthrough. Nico O’Reilly’s late effort off the crossbar and an uncharacteristically poor Harry Kane follow-up was as close as England came to breaking the deadlock in Tuesday’s 0-0 draw in Massachusetts. But the result edges them closer to a place in the Round of 32, with the point keeping them top of the group on four points ahead of Ghana on goals scored, and Tuchel hopes fans were not too disappointed by what they saw from the team. “It is a long tournament,” the England coach said. “I think the boys tried everything and again they played with the right energy. “I know it’s a very different game and, in this case, if one team tries to play and to run against this deep block and you don’t find the spaces, it is difficult for you to create chances it can be difficult to watch. “It is not as exciting as two teams trying to win it in a more open game. We know. “We always try to entertain our fans. It was difficult today. I hope they don’t lose belief. It is a long way to go. “Credit to our opponent and I just feel that I was right. We play in a very difficult group.” Failing to beat the lowest-ranked side of a strong group saw the England boss face a variety of questions, including whether they are too reliant on star striker Kane for goals. “I mean, does Argentina rely to heavily on [Lionel] Messi and France rely too heavily on Kylian Mbappe? It’s just what it is,” he said. “They are world-class players and they do normally what they do, so everyone is pushing and we had three different goalscorers in the first match. “To rely on Harry, it’s just a natural thing because he loves the responsibility and he takes it. He was not involved as much as we would like to, but it was just so, so narrow. “Our two central defenders were responsible for the build-up and then it was basically eight against 10, so it was difficult to find space. “But little moments he had were just unlucky and I think the last one is normally a clear goal and would have got us a deserved win. “We rely on Harry because we can, because he’s our forward but we don’t over-rely on him.” Jude Bellingham stressed this was no time for panic, with England still top of Group L and well-placed to reach the knockout stage if they can come away with a result against Panama next week. “Credit to Ghana. They got out of the game what they played for," the Real Madrid midfielder told Fifa.com. "We couldn't quite break them down, even with all the corners, all the possession, all the shots on goal. “I'm young, but I’m still one of the experienced players [in the dressing room]. There’s no worries, no stress, no drama at all in there. "My message has just been to make sure we stay positive and keep the good atmosphere we've got going. We’ve got four points, it puts us in a good position. It's not the end of the world.”

World Cup 2026: England boss Tuchel tells fans 'don't lose belief' after frustrating draw with Ghana

England top Group L and can seal place in Round of 32 with a result against Panama next week

Reliance on Kane

Bellingham: No panic

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