Thomas Tuchel has been told to copy Mikel Arteta’s homework and start Declan Rice at right-back when England take on DR Congo in the World Cup round of 32.
A somewhat nervy 2-0 win over Panama in New Jersey on Saturday night ensured that the Three Lions advanced to the knockout stage of the World Cup as Group L winners.
As a result, they’ve avoid a huge clash against Portugal and instead will face the Democratic Republic of the Congo, but even they cannot be underestimated after an impressive draw with Cristiano Ronaldo’s side.
Tuchel does have a major injury problem on his hands, with first-choice right-back Reece James expected to miss the game through injury.
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Against Panama, Jarrell Quansah deputised for James, but the centre-back did not look comfortable playing out of position and ended up limping off the pitch after twisting his ankle.
With the Bayer Leverkusen star now an injury doubt, Tuchel looks set to recall Spence, the only natural, fit right-back in the squad, but Tony Cascarino isn’t sold on the Tottenham defender.
‘You might see Thomas Tuchel do something very different. He might even select a midfielder to go and play right-back,’ the former Chelsea striker said on talkSPORT.
‘It’s the position in the England team that’s totally up for grabs. Someone’s going to play there, and it might not be the obvious.
‘Obviously, Djed Spence would have been the right solution if you think of it logically. He plays right-back, or he can play left-back, so he can do that job, and it isn’t much of an issue.
‘But he didn’t play him yesterday, unless he’s got an injury we don’t know about. Obviously, he has concerns about him.
‘He’s fast, I don’t think he’s great at one v ones like many people do, he gets caught out of position too often. He is one of them that’s so quick he can recover but if he plays against Vinicius Junior, he won’t get back to him.
‘I watched him at Tottenham a lot last year, I always felt he’s one of them players who will give you a chance, whether it’s the positioning, whether he gets caught out and players get in behind him.’
Cascarino then reiterated his belief that one of England’s midfielder could deputise a full-back, just as he did for Arsenal toward the end of last season.
‘If I’m brutally honest, I would really think about playing Declan Rice there,’ the former Republic of Ireland international added.
‘I think he could do it. I’ve always said, Declan Rice can play centre-half, he can play midfield, and you could play him as a full-back.
‘Steven Gerrard, you could play as a right-back, he did it in the Champions League final because he was so good athletically. Now, if I wanted someone to be able to handle someone physically and athletically, I’m looking at Declan Rice.
Who should play right-back for England?
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Djed Spence
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Declan Rice
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Ezri Konsa
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Trevoh Chalobah
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Someone else
Rice, who is nursing an injury of his own and was rested against Panama, did indeed fill in at right-back amidst an injury crisis at Arsenal, a decision that was widely panned.
After a bad performance in a crucial game against West Ham, Gary Neville said it was a ‘really poor decision’ from Arteta, and insisted Rice was not at all capable of playing in defence.
Aside from Spence and Rice, centre-back’s Ezri Konsa and Trevoh Chalobah have been mentioned as potential options to replace James.
Tuchel only has a few days to decide, with the Three Lions to play DR Congo in Atlanta on Wednesday, July 1.
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