Wayne Rooney says England should have been ‘on the phone’ to retired defender after DR Congo win

Wayne Rooney says he’s ‘worried’ about England’s right-back predicament following the side’s nervy win over DR Congo and Thomas Tuchel should have been ‘straight on the phone’ to Kyle Walker after Tino Livramento was ruled out of the World Cup.

England have been left short of options at right-back after opting to call up Chelsea centre-half Trevoh Chalobah in place of Livramento, who was forced to withdraw with a calf problem before a ball was even kicked.

Reece James entered the tournament as Tuchel’s first-choice but there was yet more injury frustration for the Three Lions as it was confirmed the full-back had been struck down by a hamstring issue.

Jarell Quansah badly struggled deputising in place of James in England’s 2-0 victory over Panama and there was a feeling of deja vu as Djed Spence endured a torrid time against DR Congo in tonight’s round of 32 contest.

England’s lackadaisical defence ultimately had Harry Kane to thank for getting them out of trouble in Atlanta, with the talismanic Bayern Munich striker scoring twice to drag his side to a 2-1 victory after going behind early on.

Kane and Co resume their campaign at the Estadio Azteca on Monday night against co-hosts Mexico, who overcame Ecuador to advance through to the last 16.

Reacting to Spence’s nervy display of DR Congo in the BBC Sport studio, ex-England captain Rooney said: ‘We’ve seen it before where players have come out of retirement… I think the minute Tino Livramento got injured, I think they should have been straight on the phone to Kyle Walker.

‘Kyle’s still more than good enough and more than capable of playing in this England team.

‘I would have been on the phone to him and saying, “Listen, we need you here so can you come out and help us”, because that could really cost us.

‘I’m worried on that.’

Micah Richards was left similarly concerned by Spence’s shaky showing and questioned Tuchel’s decision to leave Trent Alexander-Arnold in the wilderness when naming his squad.

‘The right-back position is a conundrum. We’ve had Declan Rice having to fill in at right-back,’ the ex-Manchester City and England defender chimed in.

‘Djed Spence has only played 290 minutes at right-back, he’s used to playing on the left.

‘To someone who has played full-back or who hasn’t played full-back, you might think, “He’s played on the left, he can play on the right… it should be the same”, but it’s actually not because your body positions are completely different.

‘I think he really struggled today, Spence, and I don’t want to keep going back to who England haven’t got but the injury to Tino Livramento was a problem, Jarell Quansah went out when you wanted to play him so that’s a problem, Reece James, and you’re thinking: could Trent [Alexander-Arnold]’s quality give us something different in this game.

‘Those are the question marks that he’ll probably be asking himself now.’

While Declan Rice has been used as a makeshift option at right-back, Richards fears England would lose an element of dynamism if the midfielder is forced to switch position.

‘If you want to go with Rice at right-back, you lose Rice’s pace and power in that midfield area, he added.

‘So I think there are certainly things that England need to look at if they want to go further in the tournament.’

In his post-match interview with the BBC, Kane – having captained his country for a record-breaking 91st time – praised England’s second-half substitutes for coming on and making a difference.

‘It feels amazing to be honest. What a crazy game,’ he told the BBC.

‘They are a tough team and then after that first break we were much better and their keeper made some unbelievable saves. We spoke about people having hero moments and it can be anyone. It was me today.

‘We spoke all week about just being ourselves. There are still things to work on for sure and these rounds are just about getting through.

‘We are in the part of the tournament when you have to grind wins out, and that’s what we have done today.

‘We are the same as every other nation. We are through, so enjoy it. I want them to enjoy it with the fans, and then we go again in four days.

‘We spoke after the Croatian game about subs making an impact and you saw that again. Over 90 minutes, we are tough to handle. I am pleased for everyone involved and hopefully we’ll keep it going.’

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