FIFA WC: Rice fit after sickness bug, but England to take late call for SF

Kansas City, July 14 (IANS) Declan Rice has recovered from the illness bug but England will make a late call on whether the midfielder will feature in Thursday’s World Cup semi-final against Argentina.

Rice suffered with a sickness bug in the lead-up to Saturday’s quarter-final victory over Norway in Miami; he was forced off at half-time following a below-par first half. He had spent three days in bed before the quarterfinal.

According to the Daily Mail Sport, the 27-year-old vice-captain is feeling much better and trained with his teammates on Monday. But Tuchel will wait before making a final decision on whether to pick him.

He has also been managing hamstring and back pain but is confident he can start when England take on the world champions in Atlanta. The midfielder, who has 78 caps, has started all but one of England’s World Cup games so far, missing the 2-0 group-stage win over Panama because of an injury flare-up.

England will train for the final time before the semifinal game at their Swope Soccer Village base in Kansas City. Following the session, the squad will have an opportunity to take part in recovery activities.

Tuchel and his players will then head for the airport as they fly to Atlanta. The flight to Georgia will take around two hours, with most of the squad heading to the team hotel on arrival.

Three players will accompany Tuchel to Atlanta Stadium as they preview the World Cup semi-final, which will be the Three Lions’ first meeting with Argentina in more than 20 years.

The road to the semi-finals has been far from easy for Tuchel’s side and Lionel Scaloni’s defending champions. The Three Lions had to dig deep to overcome Congo DR in the Round of 32, Mexico in the last 16 and Norway in the quarter-finals.

La Albiceleste, meanwhile, turned their meetings with Cabo Verde, Egypt and Switzerland into thriller, surviving extra time and sustained spells of pressure.

–IANS

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