Time for Thomas Tuchel to earn his money after World Cup reality check: Winners and losers as England attack run out of ideas in Ghana stalemate to leave Harry Kane's Golden Boot hopes hanging by a thread

Indeed, this dire 0-0 speaks to the task Thomas Tuchel has in front of him. England kept the ball well enough, but didn't have answers for a well-set-up Ghana side.

Carlos Queiroz's men played for a point from the first second, as they defended deep, scrunched the spaces, and invited England keep possession. The Three Lions' response was measured and lacking any kind of risk-taking in the final third.

To illustrate their dominance, England completed 111 passes during the opening 12 minutes; Ghana completed 14. But England didn't create a chance from open play for 36 minutes and only had three shots on target all game before Nico O'Reilly rattled the crossbar with four minutes remaining.

Harry Kane, so often the spark, had just three touches in the Ghana box, and did not get a good look on goal until the 87th minute, when he blasted over the bar from point-blank range.

"[Ghana] defended with a lot of determination, a lot of discipline, and one of the most physical performances I ever saw from a team defending," Tuchel said post-match. "It was difficult to find space. The little moments he [Kane] had were just unlucky. The last one was usually a clear goal.

"It didn't fall for us. It was a difficult one. It took a lot of patience and repetitive attacks with patience to break it down. It's a 0-0," Tuchel said.

As is the way with England at major tournament, the vibes pendulum can swing violently from 'It's Coming Home' to 'They're getting the next flight home'. When times are good, they have never seemed so good, but as soon as there is one disappointing result, panic sets in.

Thinking rationally, however, it's worth remembering that England have now drawn the second game of four straight major tournaments (with three of those finishing 0-0), meaning this is not uncharted territory for a team who went all the way to the final on two of those previous occasions. But that's part of the problem; Tuchel was supposed to change things, and so a return to what many will read as the status quo, is alarming - especially given the team's lofty goals this summer.

"It's a long tournament. The boys tried everything," Tuchel said after the final whistle. It might, though, be time to try something else.

GOAL breaks down the winners & losers from Boston...

LOSER: Thomas Tuchel

Tuchel got a pretty good performance out of England in their first group game , and his tactics looked mightily similar here. O'Reilly gave way for Djed Spence at left-back while Marc Guehi came in for John Stones in central defence. But otherwise, it was a question of not needing to fix what wasn't broken. The wingers stayed wide while the central midfielders tried to vacate space for Kane and Jude Bellingham.

But there are two teams in a football match, and Ghana had a plan to counter what England do best. The Black Stars sat deep, dared England to attack, and left them very few spaces to work with.

Tuchel probably should have responded sooner. It was clear after 45 minutes that England needed an extra attacking player on the pitch but Tuchel kept his powder dry until Bukayo Saka and O'Reilly came on after 65 minutes. Morgan Rogers and Eberechi Eze followed than 10 minutes later, while Marcus Rashford was only given the final 10 minutes to make an impact.

Things never really improved, though, and there are now questions being asked about the decisions Tuchel took when selecting his World Cup squad. Cole Palmer and Phil Foden, two admittedly out-of-form players but who possess rich histories of unpicking difficult locks, are currently sunning themselves on holiday. Tuchel was always going to have to leave some of his big-name attacking midfielders at home, but it's hard not to imagine how this game might have gone had the German made a different call in late May.

The squad, though, wasn't the problem here as much as Tuchel's inability to adjust, and he was punished for that. Now, it's a question of calming the nerves, keeping everyone's head on, and winning football matches, starting with Panama on Saturday.

WINNER: Carlos Queiroz

A word, though, for Carlos Queiroz. A grizzled veteran of World Cups, the Portuguese is managing at his fifth straight tournament , becoming just the second man to achieve that feat after being parachuted into the Ghana job in April.

He knows the formula required to earn results with an underdog having led Iran to the previous three finals. And while that doesn't often yield the sexiest football, when done right, it is mightily effective.

Queiroz put 11 men behind the ball almost from the first second, and it worked a charm. Ghana spoiled the game for England. Their challenges were hard and they took their time over dead balls when given the opportunity. In stoppage-time, when more defensive reinforcements were required, the former Real Madrid manager had no qualms substituting Prince Adu, an attacking player whom he had only brought on 30 minutes earlier.

"I am so proud of the way our players fought during the game, how much they stand behind the plan, the game plan," Queiroz said post-match. "When you have to defend, you defend. I cannot play samba when they play rock and roll.

"When they (England) went into half-time, they knew they didn't have solutions to beat us."

Queiroz's plan doesn't always look pretty on the eye, but he and his players deserved to celebrate in front of the Ghanaian fans, who cheered the point as if it were three. For the first time since 2010, they are heading to the knockout rounds.

LOSER: Kane's Golden Boot bid

All of the big-name forwards, from Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe to Erling Haaland and - eventually - Cristiano Ronaldo, have found their goal-scoring groove at this tournament, setting up one of the most closely-contested and eye-catching Golden Boot races in recent memory.

Kane was well in it after his brace against Croatia on matchday one, but his blank in Boston means he is now off the pace in the battle to finish as the tournament's top scorer.

His miss in the 87th minute, a shank high into the stands from six yards out, was perhaps the defining moment from this game, and left Kane on his knees in disbelief. It was one of only 19 touches he managed in the whole game as England failed to provide their captain with the service he needed to keep his quest for a second Golden Boot on track, and he is thus already three goals behind Messi, and two off Mbappe and Haaland.

Given the way that trio are playing, it's going to take something special for Kane to reel them in.

LOSER: England's attacking ideas

It was put to Tuchel in his post-match press conference that England's attack had become a bit too predictable . It was a fair question, too. In the second half, when things weren't going very well, England began crossing the ball a lot, but Ghana's stout defence met each header with glee.

Ghana defended very deep and very narrow, meaning England didn't have any room in which to work in the centre of the pitch. But they also have to score goals to win a World Cup, and there wasn't a period with any kind of sustained pressure. England had 79 percent possession, but they did little with it.

Tuchel will, then, need to get creative. Panama are a solid, resolute side who have given teams real headaches in CONCACAF, and will likely set up in much the same way as Ghana. England's round-of-32 opponent would be smart to copy the formula, too.

England, therefore, need a spark from somewhere. Tuchel alluded to "another idea" he had during the second half hydration break, and remarked it might be something to work on. That would be a solid plan.

WINNER: Bukayo Saka

One bright spot for England was the performance of Saka off the bench. The Arsenal winger struggled with various injury issues for most of the second half of the Premier League season, and arrived in north America nursing an Achilles problem that has meant he has started both of the matches so far among the substitutes.

Saka did come off the bench against Croatia to deliver a tidy assist for Rashford, and Tuchel speculated in a news conference the night before the Ghana game that Saka may be fit enough to play from the start. He didn't, but he again looked bright off the bench.

The 24-year-old added an extra bit of creativity and some pace to England's play. Crucially, he is comfortable taking on his man with the ball at a standstill, which stands in contrast to his club-mate Madueke, who is far more effective when already in stride. In truth, Saka's introduction, after 65 minutes, probably came a little too late.

Presuming he has now proven his fitness, it would be right to give Saka a go from the start against Panama and see if he can be the difference-maker Tuchel needs.

LOSER: John Stones

And finally, a word for Stones, whose omission here looked pretty ominous for his hopes of playing regularly through this tournament. Tuchel made a bold decision to start him in the first game, and the results were about as expected for a defender who had made just 18 appearances for Manchester City since the start of last season, with Stones looking particularly rusty in Dallas. And while his replacement, Guehi, wasn't spectacular himself, he was certainly an improvement on his former City team-mate.

This marked the first time since England's exit from Euro 2016 at the hands of Iceland that Stones wasn't named to the England line up for a tournament game, ending a run of 27 successive starts at World Cups and Euros. If there are to be any changes to Tuchel's team on Saturday, it seems likely they will be in attack, meaning Stones might have to get used to life on the bench.