Gareth Southgate faces an anxious wait over Declan Rice ahead of Saturday’s quarter-final against France, after he missed training yesterday due to illness.
The absence of Rice would be a huge blow for England. The West Ham star is a crucial player and could hold the key as England’s dynamic, new-look midfield try to take control of the game against the defending champions.
There is also no one more important to cutting off the supply line to Kylian Mbappe. Antoine Griezmann is the player France most look to for getting the ball to Mbappe, and the Atletico Madrid star drops into central areas occupied by Rice.
Bypassing Rice has proven difficult for opposition teams so far in Qatar. He has covered more distance than any other England player in the first four matches, and that ability to get around the pitch has allowed him to make the most defensive actions of any player in Southgate’s squad.
It has helped England to have the second-best defence (two goals conceded) in the tournament and the joint-best attack (12 goals scored). Against Senegal, Rice allowed Jude Bellingham and Jordan Henderson to make forward runs that proved decisive.
“It is really important I do what the coaches say, being in front of the back four, being the central connection, letting our attacking players go and flourish and being there to stop counter-attacks and, of course, having that good connection with the back four,” Rice said before England beat Senegal 3-0 in the last-16.
Rice’s role for England has shifted from Euro 2020, when he played in a ‘double pivot’ with Kalvin Phillips. The 23-year-old is now a lone defensive midfielder, with less license to roam from his position than he has for West Ham. Southgate has asked him to be extremely disciplined, with left-back Luke Shaw more likely to join attacks than him.
Rice has also become important in linking the play, with Bellingham and Henderson pushing forward and leaving him to take the ball from defenders Harry Maguire and John Stones and give it to the forward players.
Rice is a crucial player and could hold the key as England’s dynamic, new-look midfield try to take control of the game against France
It is a job in which Rice has not always been a specialist. But since his England debut in 2019, he has been aware the speed of his passing is key and has worked tirelessly on it at West Ham.
His improvements in this area have encouraged Chelsea to identify him as a key transfer target next summer, with Manchester City and Manchester United also interested. Newcastle could join the race for him should they qualify for the Champions League.
Rice has demonstrated his passing talent at this World Cup, showing for the ball more than anyone else for England and playing the most passes against both Senegal and Iran. He is also a significant part of the reason why there is so much confidence in the England camp over them being able to take hold of games.
Luka Modric controlled the game when England were beaten by Croatia in their World Cup semi-final four years ago, while Southgate’s side were content for Italy to dominate the ball in the Euro 2020 Final. But the hope is England can seize control against a France midfield of Aurelien Tchouameni, Adrien Rabiot and Antoine Griezmann.
If Rice is not fit to play on Saturday, Phillips will almost certainly step in as his replacement. Phillips excelled at Euro 2020 but the Manchester City midfielder played just 54 minutes of football in the first half of the season, after suffering a shoulder injury in September, and coming into a such a big game would not be ideal.
Bellingham has rightly taken a lot of the plaudits at the World Cup, but Southgate will know how important Rice is to his plan of overcoming France and going all the way in Qatar.
