Paul Scholes Calls for Declan Rice to Be Dropped Against DR Congo
Paul Scholes has never been afraid of a sharp opinion. This time, his gaze has landed on one of England’s untouchables.
As Thomas Tuchel plots a route through the World Cup knockout rounds in the United States, the former Manchester United midfielder has called for Arsenal star Declan Rice to be dropped for the last-32 clash with DR Congo on Wednesday night.
Scholes: Drop Rice, unleash Anderson
England have done the job so far, at least on paper. They topped Group L with seven points from nine, opened with a vibrant 4-2 win over Croatia and have yet to lose. The story on the pitch, though, has been far less convincing.
A flat, goalless draw with Ghana exposed a lack of incision. Against Panama, England laboured for over an hour before finally breaking through, eventually grinding out a 2-0 win. The results are there. The rhythm isn’t.
Rice missed the Panama match, officially due to a lingering injury concern and with the added complication of a yellow card against Ghana that left him at risk of suspension for the last-32 tie. Fit again, and widely regarded as one of the most complete midfielders in world football, he is expected to walk straight back into Tuchel’s XI.
Scholes would slam that door shut.
“England don’t need to play two sitting midfielders in the next game,” he said on The Good, The Bad & The Football podcast, making his case for a more aggressive approach against DR Congo.
“No disrespect to Congo but in those type of games you play as many attackers as possible. I think it has to be a straight shootout between Declan Rice and Elliot Anderson, and I think I would just go with Anderson.”
It’s not that Scholes doubts Rice’s quality. Far from it.
“I think he will pass it forward a bit more,” he said of Anderson. “Think about Rice with Arsenal… look, he’s a great player and a great leader, I get all that, and you’d rather him in your team than not most of the time.
“But Arsenal didn’t play great football last season either, did they? Rice couldn’t get [Martin] Odegaard in the game, so maybe that’s transferred a bit to England. I don’t think that happens with Anderson.”
The criticism cuts to the heart of England’s problem in this tournament: control without creativity, possession without enough penetration. Scholes sees Anderson, the Nottingham Forest midfielder on the brink of a £116m move to Manchester City, as the man more likely to break lines and feed the forwards.
“It wasn’t great, was it?”
Scholes did not stop at individual selections. His assessment of England’s overall World Cup credentials was just as blunt.
“It wasn’t great, was it?” he said of the Panama win.
“Across the three games I don’t think I’ve seen a team that will win the World Cup.
“It hasn’t been great but look, they could get better and they’re winning games and I do think they’ve got match winners in the team.
“I just don’t think they’re at the level of France or Argentina yet.”
That is the tension hanging over Tuchel’s campaign: England are progressing, but without the authority or fluency of the tournament’s heavyweights. The knockout rounds will not be kind to a team that drifts through games.
Butt backs Rice, but with same warning
Interestingly, Scholes is not alone in questioning the double-pivot. His former United and England teammate Nicky Butt sees the same structural issue – yet comes to a very different conclusion on personnel.
“You can’t play two sitting midfielders against teams who aren’t going to have any of the possession,” Butt said, echoing Scholes’ tactical concern.
But where Scholes would sacrifice Rice, Butt insists he must stay.
“I’d definitely play Declan Rice in the next game so I would leave Elliot Anderson out.
“I think he’s been brilliant and is a top, top, top player which is why Man City have gone and paid £120m for him.
“I just don’t think you can leave Declan Rice out. He’s one of those players you just don’t leave out.”
Two former teammates, one shared belief: Tuchel must loosen the handbrake. The argument now is over which midfield anchor he trusts to do it.
DR Congo test and a bigger question
On paper, DR Congo should not frighten a side with England’s depth. They finished third in Group K after beating Uzbekistan, drawing with Portugal and losing to Colombia. Competitive, awkward, but hardly one of the favourites.
That, in Scholes’ eyes, is exactly why England must attack. Why the second holding midfielder should go. Why Rice, astonishingly, could be the one to pay the price.
Tuchel has spent the group stage trying to knit together a side that can both dominate the ball and damage opponents. The next 90 minutes will show whether he believes that evolution demands a bold call on his midfield – and whether a World Cup knockout tie is the moment he dares to leave out one of his biggest names.
