It was a talking point beforehand in the England dressing room, Harry Kane bringing it up; a message with it, too. At each of the previous three tournaments, the team had spluttered in game two. The roll call of irritation took in the draws against Scotland and Denmark at the European Championship – either side of the draw against the United States at the last World Cup. Must do better this time, was the gist of what Kane said.

England did not do better. The idea was to maintain the momentum they had generated in the 4-2 win over Croatia in their opening Group L tie but there was no surge here. Only stodge. England laboured to create against an ultra-defensive Ghana team, their only pulse-quickening moments coming towards the very end.

Thomas Tuchel has made great play of his finishers and two of those he introduced from the bench almost made it happen. Bukayo Saka extended the Ghana goalkeeper Benjamin Asare with a low shot while Nico O’Reilly hit the top of the post with a header. From the rebound, Kane lashed high; a gilt-edged miss. In stoppage-time, Marc Guéhi saw a header cleared away from in front of the line.

At least England did not lose and the latest second match stalemate was not the worst result. England were mainly secure at the back, although they did survive a scare in the 79th minute when Ghana got the substitute, Prince Adu, away and Ezri Konsa leapt into a challenge inside the area. It was messy and Ghana appealed loudly for a penalty. Konsa got the benefit of the doubt. Performance-wise, there was plenty to improve upon. This was a return to the travails against the dreaded low block. Tuchel has plenty to chew over.

It was the proverbial wet and windy Tuesday, prompting the question of whether England could do it on this kind of occasion. It was maybe not one the players had envisaged as they went through their hot-weather preparations in Florida. There was an English feel to it in New England, albeit the home stadium of the New England Patriots is 100 per cent American; a vast venue that steeples skywards on the sides, huge screens at either end, a lot of open concourse space, too, which allows the fans to mill about.

Tuchel knew Ghana would present a different test to Croatia. The Black Stars changed their manager at the end of March, bringing in Carlos Queiroz, and this was only his fourth game in charge. There was limited footage of his team for England to study. But Queiroz is Queiroz and it was no surprise to see him set up in an extremely compact 4-5-1 system. It gave the impression that he considered possession of the ball to be a bonus.

England had to plot a route through the thicket of yellow shirts. Their movement needed to be sharp; ditto the tempo of their passes, especially the switches. Tuchel wanted to channel the feeling of the second-half against Croatia in the first half here; the pace and precision. It did not happen. When the time came for the first-half hydration break – which was absolutely not needed and loudly jeered – England had little to show for their domination of the ball.

There were moments when they almost got runners up and inside, most notably the full-backs, Reece James and Djed Spence. Nothing came of it. Noni Madueke repeatedly checked back on the right wing, which Ghana were happy about. Their priority was to keep England in front of them. They made zero apologies for their lack of ambition and the Ghana supporters seemed on board with it all. They gave their team a rapturous ovation at half-time.

Tuchel started Spence over O’Reilly on the left in part to ensure he would have a pacy solution to any counterattacks. Guéhi came in for John Stones in central defence for his speed, as well. It was about what England did at the other end and the interval report was bleak, the team having shown little in the second quarter, either.

There was no single moment to quicken the pulses of the England fans before half-time; the statistics showed Tuchel’s team had six shots, none of them on target. The Ghana goalkeeper, Asare, was untroubled. At a stretch, there was the move when Guéhi and Declan Rice fed Kane on 45 minutes and he almost bought a half yard for the clear shot. He saw Ghana get bodies in the way. The frustration from an England point of view was palpable.

It was essential they remained patient. That was the message from Tuchel’s assistant, Anthony Barry, when he spoke to ITV during the interval. His interviews have become box-office. He noted that Ghana defended even deeper than England had expected. Barry called the first-half “absolutely OK from our point of view.”

Perhaps the England management thought it was time for the carrot rather than the stick. They were acutely aware of how difficult this type of game can be. What they definitely did not want to do was offer Ghana any encouragement, which almost happened straight after the restart.

Jude Bellingham was called upon to make a fine one-on-one tackle against Antoine Semenyo while Spence had to be alert to keep out Marvin Senaya. There would also be a flashpoint on 67 minutes when Ghana worked the substitute Adu, up and through, with Jordan Pickford making a reckless dash from his line. The pair collided with Pickford a little fortunate to get the free-kick.

Tuchel made some attacking changes. He got Bukayo Saka on, then Morgan Rogers and Eberechi Eze, the latter replacing Elliot Anderson in midfield; a progressive move. The pickings remained slim for England in the second-half before the late push. England did not do enough.