Neither illness nor injury! Why Declan Rice was substituted during England’s World Cup win over Norway - with Thomas Tuchel explaining huge call on Arsenal midfielder

Tuchel admitted that the extreme conditions in Florida played a significant role in his personnel changes during the narrow win against Norway. With the Three Lions trailing 1-0 at the break, the German coach opted for a bold double change, introducing Bukayo Saka and Eberechi Eze to inject more attacking impetus into a side that looked drained by the heat and humidity. The tactical shift ultimately paid off as England secured their place in the semi-finals thanks to a Jude Bellingham brace, but the removal of Rice raised eyebrows given his status as a mainstay in the midfield.

The manager revealed he had already planned the substitution when England were trailing 1-0. Despite snatching an equaliser right before the interval, Tuchel stuck to his guns, determined to send an aggressive message to his squad. He wanted to push them into occupying higher positions on the pitch to overcome Norway's defensive setup.

Discussing the change, Tuchel said: "We made life for ourself complicated, we had some players struggling with the heat. Ezri Konsa was one of them, cramps in his hamstring and with Declan, we made the decision to go more offensive at half-time. It was a bit of an offensive shift. I made the decision at 1-0 down and didn't want to go back on the decision. Even after the equaliser I thought this was the right signal to the team, to take up higher positions and more connections when Norway defends in a deep block. It's about being closer to your opponents box, so we put in Ebs and Bukayo and that meant we had to take Dec or Elliot [Anderson] out."

While the half-time switch was firmly a tactical decision, Tuchel also had to manage Rice’s physical condition proactively. The former West Ham man had been a major doubt for the fixture after missing two successive training sessions in the build-up due to a recent sickness bug. Knowing Rice wouldn't last the full 90 minutes, Tuchel made the change at the interval to save a valuable substitution window for later in the game.

Tuchel confirmed this strategic thinking post-match, stating: "Knowing that Declan struggles after the last three days, he was most of the time in bed, I knew he could not survive the 90 minutes. I also knew there was the possibility of 120 so I didn't want to waste another change so I made the decision to take Declan out to avoid another change further on."

With a semi-final clash against Lionel Messi's Argentina on the horizon this Wednesday, England are set to fly back to Kansas City to begin their preparations. Tuchel has already signaled that the intensity of training will be significantly reduced to allow Rice and the rest of the squad to recover from their exploits in the Florida sun. "They have to, no doubt about it. Our level of training will now go down. The next few days are crucial. We have another. This victory will help a lot. We have a top facility to recover at the highest level," the manager concluded.