Declan Rice was in bed ill for nearly three days before Norway game, says Tuchel

To play this video you need to enable JavaScript in your browser. This video can not be played Figure caption, Bellingham scores extra-time winner as England reach semi-finals By Mandeep Sanghera BBC Sport journalist Published 6 minutes ago England boss Thomas Tuchel says Declan Rice spent most of the three days before their World Cup quarter-final win against Norway in bed with sickness. Rice started the 2-1 victory against Norway but looked like he was struggling in the stifling heat of the Miami Stadium before being substituted after the break for Arsenal teammate Eberechi Eze. England went 1-0 down when Andreas Schjelderup scored for Norway before Jude Bellingham equalised just before half-time and also grabbed the winner for the Three Lions during extra-time. The win set up a semi-final against Argentina, who beat Switzerland, that will kick off at 20:00 on Wednesday, 15 July and be shown live across the BBC. "We had some players struggling in the heat," said Tuchel. "Ezri Konsa was one of them with cramps and the hamstrings. "Declan, we made a decision in half-time to become more offensive, to have a bit of an offensive shift. "I made the decision when we were 1-0 down and didn't want to go back on the decision because of the equaliser." Rice was a doubt for the Norway game as he had already been suffering with a neural issue affecting his hamstring and lower back, and it was exacerbated by illness. He trained on the eve of the quarter-final but made way at the break. Tuchel added: "We had to take Elliott [Anderson] or Declan out [and] knowing that Declan struggled after the last three days where he was most of the time in bed, I knew he cannot survive 90 minutes. "There was a possibility that it goes 120 [minutes], so I didn't want to waste another change, so the decision was to take Declan earlier out than he needed to go out, just to save us another change later down the match." Rice, who helped Arsenal win last season's Premier League title, has started five of England's six matches at the 2026 World Cup, with the group game against Panama being the only one he has missed. Related topics Football England Men's Football Team FIFA World Cup 2026 Tuchel angry at 'lucky' England - but Bellingham defends players Published 8 hours ago 'Animals', Hand of God and Beckham - Argentina and England's World Cup rivalry Published 1 hour ago 'We should all be excited' - Messi set for first England meeting Published 6 hours ago More on this story When the World Cup finishes, the football continues on BBC Sport Published 1 day ago World Cup 2026 knockout path How to watch the World Cup on the BBC and ITV Published 2 July