England boosted as Declan Rice declared fit for World Cup semi-final

Declan Rice has been declared fit and available for England's World Cup semifinal against Argentina. After a stomach issue limited his quarterfinal minutes, manager Thomas Tuchel confirmed the midfielder has fully recovered and resumed training.

Declan Rice is fit and available to start England's World Cup semifinal against Argentina on Wednesday (local time), Sky Sports reported. Rice had suffered a stomach issue following England's round-of-16 clash in Mexico City 10 days ago.

England manager Thomas Tuchel revealed that the midfielder was confined to bed for three days ahead of the quarterfinal against Norway due to the illness. England will face Argentina in the second semifinal of the 2026 FIFA World Cup in Atlanta on Wednesday, with the Three Lions aiming to reach only their second-ever World Cup final and their first since lifting the trophy on home soil in 1966.

Limited Minutes Against Norway

As a result, the FA medical team decided that Rice could only feature for 45 minutes in Miami, where the intense heat and humidity created conditions equivalent to temperatures of 44°C. The Arsenal midfielder appeared exhausted and visibly drained as he walked past journalists after England's extra-time victory over Norway.

Tuchel on 'Hard Decision'

However, manager Thomas Tuchel indicated in his post-match press conference that Rice was eager to continue playing beyond the interval. "We knew that Declan was struggling. He gave a green light to continue maybe until the next water break, but then I thought if we go 120 and I don't have Elliot [Anderson] on the field, we will get into trouble with substitutions later," Tuchel said as per Sky Sports.

"So we took a hard decision and took Declan off then, which paid off because Elliot could play the full 120, otherwise we would have been in trouble," he added.

Full Recovery for Semifinal

Rice has now fully recovered and completed a full training session in Kansas City on Monday. It was England's first full session since the victory over Norway, which had been held behind closed doors, as per Sky Sports.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Asianet Newsable English staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)