England World Cup latest: Jamie Carragher says Thomas Tuchel can't afford to drop Declan Rice against Ghana despite fitness concerns

Jamie Carragher says England can't afford to drop Declan Rice against Ghana despite concerns over his fitness, but believes Bukayo Saka should not be risked.

Rice was substituted in the 72nd minute of the opening World Cup win over Croatia in Dallas, with Thomas Tuchel describing the decision as a precaution after the midfielder felt discomfort in his lower back and upper hamstring.

While Tuchel said the Premier League winner would be available for the Ghana clash, Rice himself revealed to ITV Sport that he has been playing through "neural pain" in his hamstring since Christmas.

Rice has played a total of 63 matches across the course of the 2025/26 season - the most of anyone in the England squad - but Carragher believes the midfielder's importance to the team is such that Tuchel can't afford to be without him.

"You don't rest when you're at the World Cup," Carragher said. "If England could win the next game, maybe you'd look to do that in the third game if you're guaranteed top spot. But no, I don't think you're in a situation where you're resting Declan Rice.

"I think it was more precautionary than too much of an injury [Tuchel's decision to take Rice off vs Croatia]. It's something that he's been carrying for a lot of the season. He's been one of the best players in the league. It hasn't affected him too much at all, playing for Arsenal.

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"It was probably the right decision to bring him off and make sure he's 100 per cent fit for this game. If needs be, get this game won and out of the way and rest him against Panama."

Meanwhile, Saka - continuing his recovery from an Achilles problem - was forced to begin on the bench in the opener as Arsenal team-mate Noni Madueke started on the right-hand side.

He was introduced with 20 minutes to go, but Carragher says there is no need to push him while acknowledging that the longer he doesn't play, the tougher it could be to unseat Madueke.

"The fact that he didn't start the first game means it's probably a little more serious than what Rice has got," Carragher said.

"He did miss a lot of football last season. It looks like this is a little bit more of a problem for him. I don't think you do risk it because you don't want to lose him for the tournament. But the longer the tournament goes without him starting a game, it's very difficult to expect him to come in for the knockout games and be at his absolute best.

"The longer Madueke is in the team or if he starts the next game and it goes well, it might be difficult for Bukayo to get back because of the nature of the tournament. But it's certainly not one to take a risk with because the tournament has started - you don't want to lose a player."

'Guehi and Stones the best centre-back partnership'

The other big dilemma Thomas Tuchel has is over who will start at the heart of the defence against Ghana.

John Stones partnered Ezri Konsa against Croatia despite having played fewer than 440 Premier League minutes last season, while Marc Guehi was left on the bench.

Stones looked off the pace, especially for Croatia's opener where he dived into a challenge that allowed Josip Stanisic to tee up Martin Baturina.

But Carragher would persist with the 32-year-old, who brings the experience of five previous major tournaments, alongside Guehi.

"For me, the first player in the back four would've been Marc Guehi," Carragher said. " I was surprised that he didn't play.

"I was worried about John Stones and the amount of football he's had. Not even just in the last few weeks, it's over the last few years. I mean, to expect someone to come into a game like that and perform at his absolute best, I'm not quite sure about that one.

"He gives something different from the others who are more out-and-out defenders. Stones has great experience as well. You're bringing him to play. There's no point in bringing him to sit on the bench. But for me, Marc Guehi would be playing.

"I'd probably give Stones another go and try and get up to speed. Hopefully by the time you get to the really big games in the knockout stages, he's had two or three full 90 minutes under his belt and looks a lot better."

'Let's just enjoy what we're doing now'

Despite the electric nature of the Three Lions' second half performance against Croatia - a team they have struggled to play against convincingly in recent major tournaments - Carragher is realistic about their chances of going all the way this summer.

"I think there's been a lot of really good performances from a lot of teams," he said. "I think the World Cup has been brilliant. I think the star players have lit it up.

"We're getting carried away, as we should, with our one game. I said, a lot of other teams have put in really good performances as well.

"I think you shouldn't forget the first half against Croatia. Not just because we conceded a couple of goals. It was a little bit awkward. The reason we're probably getting a bit excited is because from minute 45 to 75, we looked fantastic.

"We're basing it on a brilliant half an hour of football. I don't think we should get too carried away, but we're in a great position in terms of the group. I don't know how beneficial that'll be going forward because there's a lot of teams or groups maybe not looking like we thought they would at the beginning of the tournament.

"I'm not 100 per cent sure we'll get the run we expected before the tournament, and that could cause a problem in itself. So, let's just enjoy what we're doing now, get these two group games out of the way. Once we get to the knockout stage and we can see the run, maybe we can start getting a little bit excited."

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