Bellingham Urges Calm After England's Frustrating Stalemate with Ghana

Bellingham urges calm after England's frustrating stalemate with Ghana

Foxborough, June 24

Both England and Ghana will enter their final group match on June 28 with four points apiece following the draw at Boston Stadium.

"It's very frustrating," said Bellingham. "It feels like we've got that 'second-game fever' again. In most tournaments I've played, it's been the same: a decent performance and good win in the first game, then a tougher second one."

He admitted England had struggled to break Ghana down despite long spells of possession. "Credit to them - they got exactly what they played for," he said. "We couldn't break them down, even with all the corners, all the possession and the shots from distance."

Bellingham stayed upbeat despite the draw. "It's important not to get too negative about it," he said. "We'll watch the footage, see where we could have been better and then prepare for Panama. No worries, no stress and no drama."

Now regarded as one of the more experienced figures in the squad despite his age, the 22-year-old midfielder said his role was to help maintain a positive atmosphere in the dressing room.

"My message has been to stay positive and keep the good atmosphere we've built," he said. "It's not the end of the world. Four points put us in a good position. Now we rest, recover and go again against Panama."

England has been seen as one of the World Cup title contenders after beating Croatia 4-2 in its group opener, but found it harder against Ghana.

"Different opponent," Bellingham said. "Ghana knew what they had to do to get out of the group, and they did it very well. Their shape in defence was excellent. They closed the middle and pushed us wide. The space in the center was very tight."

"We probably could have done a bit more to open them up and, towards the end, it was about committing bodies forward and taking more risks. But like I said, it's not the end of the world," he added.

Bellingham also spoke about how the team handles criticism and media pressure during a World Cup. "When we play well, like the other day, we get the credit we deserve. When we're not at our best, like today, it's normal that people talk," he said. "For us, it's about getting on with it: going back, recovering, looking at what we did and keeping the same mentality and attitude."

Looking ahead, Bellingham believes the challenge from Ghana can help England later in the tournament. "We're not only going to play European teams or teams we know well," he said. "It's great to face a strong African team so early, with very different strengths."

"They were hard to break down and very good on the counter-attack. That's the good thing about the World Cup: you face teams and styles you don't usually play against. It will help us for the rest of the tournament, for sure."

— IANS