Declan Rice is running out of steam, leaving Tuchel a midfield conundrum

A freak of nature is Aaron Cresswell’s description of Declan Rice. The former West Ham left-back marvels at Rice’s ability to keep going. “He can play six or seven games a week,” Cresswell says of his old West Ham teammate. “God knows how many he’s played in the last few years.” The answer is 360 since the start of the 2020-21 season. The schedule has been relentless for the England midfielder. He was vital for West Ham when they had deep European runs in 2022 and 2023, was a mainstay for Gareth Southgate’s England and has been no less influential for Arsenal’s Premier League and Champions League endeavours since joining them three years ago. The temptation is to keep going. Yet Rice looked weary when his 63rd appearance of the 2025-26 season arrived in England’s chaotic 4-2 win over Croatia in their opening game of the World Cup on Wednesday. The 27-year-old was not himself. The midfield shape was wrong. There was too much space between Rice and Elliot Anderson during a worrying first half. Rice dropped too deep and was pulled out of position by Luka Modric. Perhaps those tactical wrinkles can be ironed out by Thomas Tuchel before England face Ghana on Tuesday. However, there was concern when Rice had to be taken off with England guarding a 3-2 lead against Croatia in the 72nd minute. …