England remain on course for a successful 2026 World Cup despite drab goalless draw

Ahead of England's 2026 World Cup clash against Panama on Saturday, Sports Mole's Site Coordinator Ben Knapton discusses the latest news surrounding the Three Lions.

Ben Knapton, Site Coordinator: 'There is also the calmer argument'

There have been plenty of complaints, as expected, that Tuchel left the wrong players at home, along with questions about his team selection. 

There is also the calmer argument, pointing out that England are unlikely to face teams defending as deep when it really matters later in the tournament. 

The result and performance against Ghana tempered expectations a little after the opening win over Croatia.

England could have easily lost that game if the penalty had been given, and it looked like a stonewall decision. There is no reason to panic. 

Spain versus Switzerland in 2010, Argentina versus Saudi Arabia in 2022, and Spain versus Cape Verde this year have all shown that an imperfect group stage does not have to derail a World Cup campaign. 

There could be eight games at this World Cup, and if one does not go perfectly, it may not matter. 

It did not matter for Spain 16 years ago, it did not matter for Argentina four years ago, and there is no reason it has to matter for England. 

This England team is not comparable to Brazil in 1970 or Brazil in 2002. Whenever anything goes wrong at a major tournament, the hindsight brigade arrives with questions about what should or should not have been done differently. 

England have now drawn their second game at each of the last four major tournaments, yet they reached the final in two of them. You do not have to win every single game to win the World Cup. 

There were some damning stats from the Ghana game: England held 78.8% of possession without scoring, reportedly the most by one team in a World Cup match without managing to score. 

Ghana should have had a penalty, and Carlos Queiroz said that VAR appeared to be on a coffee break when the challenge came in from Konsa. It is not clear how England got away with that one. 

Kane then blasted a volley over the bar from about eight yards out, at a moment when you want the man who scored 61 goals for Bayern Munich last season more than anyone. 

Credit is due to Ghana: Asare came in after the injury to Ati Zigi and made some really strong saves. They did so well to frustrate England, who gave away too many fouls. 

Ghana fouled England 24 times, but England still conceded 14 free kicks themselves. 

Jordan Ayew consistently topped the charts for fouls won during his time in the Premier League, and he was doing exactly the same for Ghana. They were so defensively rigid. 

Tuchel described it as one of the most physical defensive displays he had ever seen. He felt England were not overconfident, more that they were perhaps a little overcautious. Kane only had 19 touches in the game. Despite all of those statistics, this is still just a minor bump in the road. 

England have never been flagged up as World Cup favourites, and there are still no fears about their chances of at least reaching the knockout stages.

Ghana are one of only four teams at this World Cup yet to concede, so they are far from weak defensively, and they put in a hell of a shift.