Eze says England are bringing Premier League fire to World Cup

Eberechi Eze says England are playing with the energy and drive expected by head coach Thomas Tuchel as they aim to secure a spot in the World Cup knockout stage.

The Three Lions kicked off the tournament with a strong 4-2 win against Croatia but lost some steam in a goalless draw against Ghana.

England, who will face Panama in their last group match in New Jersey on Saturday, are currently at the top of Group L, just ahead of Ghana on goal difference.

Tuchel’s side must match or do better than Ghana’s result against Croatia to stay in the lead.

Eze, who plays for Arsenal, spoke at England’s training camp in Kansas City on Wednesday. He said the players are showing the high-energy football their German coach wants, even after the disappointing result against Ghana.

“You can see the intensity and the passion and spirit that we play with,” he said. “Whenever we play a game we have that level of dominance, when we try to impose ourselves in every game.

“You can see how difficult it is for opponents to play against us, that energy and that spirit, so I think adding that plus the quality that we have in this team, it makes us really difficult to play against.”

Eze, 27, who came on as a substitute against Ghana, said making his World Cup debut was a “beautiful experience.”

“It’s a great opportunity for all of us to play in a competition like this, to have a chance of winning it as well and having that as a goal,” he said.

“I think that’s an amazing thing to be part of, and what I’m called upon to do, that’s the mentality I have, I’ll attack it as much as I can.”

England faced some criticism for not breaking through a defensive Ghana team at the Gillette Stadium near Boston.

But Eze believes it will be hard for other teams to use the same strategy.

“I don’t know if other teams will play that way because it’s not easy to play that way for 90 minutes,” he said. “They’ve done an incredible job.

“But for sure I think when you have a team that’s sitting back and not really too interested in how much of the ball they have, it does suit attacking players to be in tight spaces, to be creative and to take risks, and that’s something I’m good at.