England assistant manager Anthony Barry has shed light on why the Three Lions struggled to break down Ghana in the first half of their Group L clash, admitting that Carlos Queiroz's side defended significantly deeper than England's coaching staff had anticipated.

Despite controlling 79 percent of possession and dominating the ball throughout the opening 45 minutes, England entered the break without a single shot on target — a damning reflection of how effectively Ghana neutralised the attack.

Queiroz's defensive masterplan

Barry spoke at half-time about the tactical challenge Ghana presented. "We expected it to be a difficult challenge against a tough opponent," he said. "They defend deep... probably even deeper than we expected, about 10 to 12 metres deeper than the last two opponents they played against."

The assistant manager also highlighted Ghana's physical qualities as a key reason England found it so hard to create chances. "They have this incredible speed which allows them to cover those spaces quickly, so it's been difficult to break them down," Barry explained.

Queiroz is no stranger to this kind of defensive organisation at a major tournament. The Portuguese coach guided Egypt to the 2022 Africa Cup of Nations final, conceding just two goals across the entire competition — a testament to his ability to build compact, disciplined defensive structures.

Patience the key word at the break

Barry urged his side to stay composed heading into the second half. "The headline for us is probably patience," he said. "Ghana are a team that possess exceptional counter-attacking options, and we've negated that so far."

England's dominant possession — impressive on paper — had yielded nothing going into half-time, with Ghana sitting deep and relying on their pace to threaten on the break. For the Three Lions, the second 45 minutes would need to look very different if they were to claim three points in Group L.