World Cup 2026: Declan Rice – England to make late call midfielder for semi-final

England will make a late decision on whether Declan Rice is fit to start the World Cup semi-final against Argentina.

However, there remains optimism that the Arsenal midfielder can recover from the effects of the disease by playing on Wednesday.

Rice, who suffered an illness before Saturday’s quarter-final victory over Norway in Miami, was taken off at halftime.

Head coach Thomas Tuchel later admitted Rice spent three days in bed before the game, which England won 2-1 after extra time.

It is understood that Rice has still not fully recovered from the illness he caught in Mexico, where England defeated the home team 3-2 in the last 16, but his condition has improved significantly in the last 48 hours.

That being the case, hopes are growing that he will be good enough to start in Atlanta.

Given the seriousness of the situation, Rice is almost certain to be eligible for the semi-finals.

But given the severity of the illness, medics in England are preparing to make a late call on his availability.

And Tuchel will wait to see how quickly his situation improves before making his final decision on whether to select him.

While Rice has recovered from the disease, he has also been suffering from a neurological problem that has been affecting his lower back and hamstrings for several months.

The 78-cap midfielder has started all but one of England’s World Cup matches so far, missing the 2-0 group stage win against Panama due to injury.