Manchester United legend Paul Scholes has called on England head coach Thomas Tuchel to make a bold decision by dropping Declan Rice for the Three Lions' FIFA World Cup 2026 knockout campaign. Scholes insists that a more attack-minded approach is necessary to compete with tournament favourites France and Argentina.
England's Group Stage Performance Under Scrutiny
Despite topping Group L with seven points, Scholes believes Tuchel's side has yet to convince. England began with a 4-2 win over Croatia, followed by a goalless stalemate against Ghana and an unconvincing 2-0 victory over Panama. These results, according to Scholes, exposed a lack of attacking intent.
The former Manchester United midfielder argues that England must adopt a bolder approach in midfield if they are to challenge World Cup heavyweights France and Argentina.
Scholes Advocates for Elliot Anderson Over Rice
Speaking on The Good, The Bad & The Football podcast as per Goal.com, Scholes said, "England don't need to play two sitting midfielders in the next game. No disrespect to Congo, but in those types of games, you play as many attackers as possible. I think it has to be a straight shootout between Declan Rice and Elliot Anderson, and I think I would just go with Anderson."
Scholes added, "I think he [Anderson] will pass it forward a bit more. Think about Rice with Arsenal... look, he's a great player and a great leader, I get all that, and you'd rather have him in your team than not most of the time. But Arsenal didn't play great football last season either, did they? Rice couldn't get [Martin] Odegaard in the game, so maybe that's transferred a bit to England. I don't think that happens with Anderson."
Rice's Injury and Return
Rice missed England's final group-stage match against Panama with a calf injury but is expected to return to the starting XI for the Round of 32 clash against DR Congo.
