Jamie Carragher advises England to be ‘very careful’ with one player following Thomas Tuchel’s choice against Panama.
Jamie Carragher has said that England need to be really careful with how they use one player, especially if they reach the later stages of the World Cup, after watching their game against Panama.
The Three Lions didn’t create much attacking danger in the first 30 minutes at the MetLife Stadium, even though they were clear favorites to win. A win in New Jersey will be enough for England to top their group, but the first half showed it might be a bit tougher than expected.
Marcus Rashford was England’s brightest player in the first half hour, coming into the starting lineup for Anthony Gordon. However, Panama nearly scored right after the hydration break when striker Tomas Rodriguez forced Jordan Pickford to make a save and push the ball out for a corner.
In the midfield, Elliot Anderson started as the lone defensive midfielder, even though Tuchel said Declan Rice was fit and available. Carragher told The Telegraph after the first half that England must be careful with how they use Anderson in this role, especially if they need to manage Rice’s playing time later on.
“The worry is how easily Panama got past Anderson,” Carragher said. “It happened a few times already. Against stronger teams, that could be more dangerous. We look better going forward, but the other side looks risky too. I think we have to be careful with Anderson as the single pivot.”
He also pointed out that many players crowd the area where Harry Kane usually plays, which was a problem against Ghana too. “Kane dropping deep is an issue when too many players want the ball in the same space,” he said, referring to past tournaments.
Tuchel was seen talking animatedly with all the attacking players during the hydration break, and he probably wasn’t happy with what he saw early in the game. Just three minutes in, he threw his arms up in frustration after a long pass from Harry Kane to Bukayo Saka went out of bounds.
It wasn’t clear if Tuchel was unhappy with Kane’s pass, Saka’s run, or something else, but he shouted at someone on the pitch, then spoke to assistant coach Anthony Barry. After their win over Croatia, Tuchel talked about how losing the ball right after winning it is very tiring. The easy throw-in they gave away might have annoyed him.
Tuchel’s criticism wasn’t about Kane’s style of dropping deep, since he encourages him to do that. Kane has become better at linking play from midfield, which has paid off for him with Bayern Munich and England. Tuchel’s team is built around this side of Kane, and he scored two great goals in England’s 4-2 win over Croatia to start the group.
Though it didn’t work as well in the 0-0 draw against Ghana, Kane still had the best chance, firing a half-volley just over the bar in stoppage time.