Tuchel: We didn't do much wrong against ghana, but the team struggled on the left in both matches

England coach Tuchel looked ahead to England's match against Panama in an interview, warning the team that they would face another tough battle against an opponent employing deep defensive tactics, and calling for the team to show higher quality and stronger confidence in attack.

Thomas, let's start with what you primarily learned from the Ghana game. I'm sure you've had a few days to analyze it.

Yes, I have to say, we didn't do too much wrong. Quite the opposite, there were many positives to take away.

Of course, we didn't score. We didn't create enough chances. I think statistically, we created enough chances to win the game, but we didn't win it.

You can see the different attitudes of the two teams towards this game from their celebrations and our disappointment. Suppressing them the way we did, controlling their counter-attacks the way we did, takes a lot of effort and a lot of concentration. So I'm still fairly okay with that.

You know, the accuracy of crosses, and perhaps the timing of runs into the box, could have been at a higher level. Maybe we could have crossed more. We could have picked up the pace a bit, but it's difficult. The opponent was in a very, very deep defensive block, and they were physically strong and very disciplined defensively. So sometimes that's just how it is in football. We're not the first team to struggle to speed up the game when facing a ten-man defensive block.

Is that why you want to see England play with more intensity again? Because we saw a lot of that in the first game.

Yes, of course. Everyone loves to play a high-intensity game, but usually, high intensity comes from both teams.

I rarely see games easily pick up pace when facing a physically strong, deep-lying defensive team. Even at the club level of football, it's the same. So, if the opponent retreats into a 4-5-1 or 5-4-1 defensive shape, it's very difficult for any team in the world to speed up the game.

Usually, you need individual brilliance. You need an accurate cross. You need a dribble. You need a shot from outside the box to open up the game and change its nature. If they keep going, keep dragging it out, and then believe they can get away with it, you can see from their celebrations that they just wanted that draw. You can see what this result means to them, while we are disappointed because we didn't win the game. Sometimes that's how it is.

I still have confidence. I feel that now is still the time to trust what we are doing, to keep believing, and to keep pushing. To do the details better, to adjust the details, but not to question the overall direction.

Are you worried that Ghana may have shown other teams a blueprint for how to play against England?

To be honest, I want to see how other teams play against Ghana. I mean, I want to see how Croatia breaks them down. I think that's very, very, very difficult. If anyone can prove me wrong, I'd be happy to learn from it.

Panama will play a 5-4-1, and sometimes they will also sit deep. That's the reality. Of course, at that point, we need individual brilliance. We may need more aggressive crosses, more aggressive runs into the box to force chances. Perhaps we also need to shoot from further distances to overcome the difficulties and score that important first goal.

I saw some moments in the Panama game that I didn't see in the Ghana game. When they were in possession themselves, they would build from the back. I saw them play one-on-one in the opponent's half. Let's see if they do that against us. Everyone is allowed to play football the way they want, and it's up to us. No one is complaining. We're just putting things into proper context.

To have a game like this in the group stage, to face adversity, where things don't go exactly your way, to be honest, it's not a problem early in a tournament. Now is the time to keep pushing, keep believing, and not doubt the overall philosophy.

To what extent did the result of the Ghana game affect your plans for rotation or adjustments?

It makes things a bit harder. I mean, if we had already secured six points and qualified, we might have rotated a bit more, been a bit bolder, a bit more open. I don't want to give the players the wrong impression now, as if we don't care about this game, because we definitely care about this game. We want to win the group.

On the other hand, I have a lot of trust. I have many players who are vying for a starting eleven spot. If we need these players later in the tournament, now might also be a good time to let them feel the pressure, to let them feel what it takes to be in the starting eleven, and to trust them. Because if we need them later, hopefully in the knockout stages, it will be easier for them if they have already experienced this situation.

So, yes, some thinking needs to be done. We still have one training session. Then, at some point the night before the match, we have to make a decision.

Is Saka one of those players who might be a candidate now?

Of course, he is a candidate. Yes, of course he is a candidate. Because even for him, it makes sense to let him get playing time, more than just half an hour, to ensure that once we enter the knockout stages, he is ready. He played very well when he came on as a substitute against Ghana.

And on the other side, or on both flanks, I guess you might not have gotten what you wanted from the wingers in the past few days. Gordon is a player who has been talked about a lot. He started the first two games and perhaps had a difficult start to this tournament.

Yes, I feel the whole left side struggled a bit. Not just Antony. In the last friendly against Costa Rica before the FIFA World Cup, the left side was very strong. We thought, okay, the left side problem is solved. O'Reilly, Rice, and Antony played very freely, connected very well with each other, and we would pose a threat to any opponent on the left side.

But they struggled in these two games. I'm not entirely sure why. So it's not about one person, it's more like the entire left-sided unit is trying to find that impact we're used to seeing.

But on the other hand, that's normal too. You gradually get into form in a tournament. It's not about immediately reaching peak performance at the start of a tournament and then maintaining that form and riding the wave through the entire tournament. You need to overcome a bit of personal adversity, overcome a bit of a dip in form. Sometimes you get a bit stuck. That's okay. This is a test of trust, a test of faith.

Can we continue to move forward immediately? There's no need to take these players off, to punish them by putting them on the bench. We have every right to trust them and start them again. But other players are also vying for opportunities. So let's see.

Thomas, what do you want to see against Panama? What kind of England should the fans see?

Still the same focus. I think we arrived with the right mindset. We are not overconfident. We take the game seriously, and that's for sure, and we will bring that attitude into the preparation and the game again.

Beyond that, we will make some adjustments. As I said, we want to play a bit more aggressively, we want to show the players where risks can be taken. But honestly, if we want to look for numerical superiority on the flanks or in the middle, you might be looking for a long time. I saw Panama defend with six at the back. I saw them defend with seven at the back. So trying to find an advantage through tactical fine-tuning, I haven't found it yet.

Maybe at most you'll get three versus three. Even if you commit four players to one side, they will only commit four players to that side. So even if you switch the ball, they still have six players there, and we only have six players. So maybe what we're looking for is situations where the numbers are equal. Because usually, we play for numerical superiority, to find quick numerical advantages, to find space, but that's very hard to find. We didn't find it against Ghana. And I doubt it will be easy to find against Panama.

So maybe it's one-on-one, maybe it's two-on-two, maybe it's three-on-three, and then from there, play more aggressively, and seize opportunities in those matchups.

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