Tuchel confirms Rice spent three days in bed before England's World Cup quarter-final win

Declan Rice played just 45 minutes of England’s 2-1 World Cup quarter-final victory over Norway in Miami on Tuesday, with manager Thomas Tuchel confirming the Arsenal midfielder had spent much of the preceding three days in bed with a sickness bug.

Tuchel said the decision to withdraw Rice at the interval was partly tactical — shifting England to a more attacking shape after they trailed 1-0 — but was also shaped by the knowledge that Rice could not physically last the full 90 minutes, let alone potential extra time.

“Knowing that Declan struggles after the last three days, he was most of the time in bed, I knew he could not survive the 90 minutes,” Tuchel told reporters. “I also knew there was the possibility of 120 so I didn’t want to waste another change, so I made the decision to take Declan out to avoid another change further on.”

Rice was not the only player to feel the strain in Florida’s heat and humidity. Ezri Konsa was also substituted after suffering cramp in his hamstring, and Tuchel acknowledged that several members of the squad struggled with the conditions.

Eberechi Eze and Bukayo Saka came on at half-time as part of the attacking reshuffle, with Saka in particular impressing from the bench as England overturned the deficit to reach the semi-finals.

Tuchel confirmed England will significantly reduce their training load as they prepare for Wednesday’s semi-final in Kansas City, with recovery now the priority. “Our level of training will now go down. The next few days are crucial,” he said. “This victory will help a lot. We have a top facility to recover at the highest level.”

There was further positive news on the fitness front: Reece James returned to the pitch for the first time since England’s 0-0 draw with Ghana, while Jordan Henderson took part in the pre-match warm-up and was named among the substitutes following surgery on his wrist, though he did not feature.