Arsenal star Declan Rice only lasted 45 minutes against Norway after battling illness and injury in the build-up to England's World Cup quarter-final showdown
12:41, 12 Jul 2026
Declan Rice
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Declan Rice during England's World Cup win over Norway(Image: (Buda Mendes/Getty Images))
Thomas Tuchel eased Declan Rice's fitness fears by revealing he substituted the Arsenal star at half-time so England could be more attacking in the second half against Norway. Rice was replaced by Gunners team-mate Eberechi Eze during the break in his side’s 2-1 extra-time win.
However, the midfielder’s withdrawal sparked fitness fears, especially after Rice missed two days of training due to illness leading up to the game. The 27-year-old has also been dealing with a hamstring issue during the tournament.
But easing fears, Tuchel told talkSPORT: “I wanted to have Bukayo on the field to finish it. I was not happy with Noni's performance.
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“It was just a one-on-one and we wanted to get a bit more offensive. I took the decision when we were 1-0 down.
“I didn't want to take it back just because of the goal. I wanted to send the signal that we become more offensive. So we needed to take one midfielder off.
“We knew that Declan was struggling. He gave a green light to continue maybe until the next water break, but then I thought if we go 120 and I don't have Elliot on the field, we will get into trouble in substitutions later.
“So we took a hard decision and took Declan off then, which paid off because Elliot could play the full 120, otherwise we would have been in trouble.”
Declan Rice and Thomas Tuchel celebrate after England's win over Norway
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Rice and Thomas Tuchel celebrate after England's win over Norway(Image: (Harry Langer/DeFodi Images/DeFodi via Getty Images))
But Tuchel’s admission came after Gary Neville and Ian Wright expressed concern over Rice, saying that he 'didn't look right' during the win at Miami Stadium.
"I think it could be Declan Rice [being substituted] because in the first half, I don't know what was up with him," Neville said. "He was struggling with corners, and I wondered whether he looked fit."
Before Wright added: "He has been struggling in the first-half, you could tell with his set-pieces, he didn't look right."
While former Arsenal defender Lee Dixon believes Rice’s problems were beginning to catch up with him during the first half.
He said: "It's not like Declan Rice, it took him an age to get out there to take that corner, he looks energy-depleted. His body language... he's hit two corners, a free-kick, he never misses the spot, it's just missing from his game.
"He wandered over, we're 1-0 down - get yourself over, take it quickly. He just looks off colour, which we know he is."
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Rice has featured in every match bar the Panama one at the World Cup, following a long season with Arsenal, where he played 55 matches.