Scholes Calls for England to Drop Declan Rice Against DR Congo
Paul Scholes has never been shy of an opinion. This time, his gaze has fallen on one of the pillars of England’s World Cup bid: Declan Rice.
With England safely through as winners of Group L after taking seven points from nine, Thomas Tuchel’s side now step into the knockouts against DR Congo on Wednesday in the United States. The stakes rise. So does the noise around selection.
And Scholes wants a major call.
Scholes: Drop Rice and unleash attackers
Rice, Arsenal’s title-winning midfielder and one of the most reliable operators in world football, is widely expected to return to the starting XI after missing the 2-0 win over Panama. He sat that one out due to a minor injury concern and the risk of suspension following a yellow card against Ghana.
Scholes would leave him exactly where he was: on the bench.
“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 with the blunt clarity that defined his playing days.
“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.”
That’s the crux of it. Shape and intent. Scholes wants England to tilt forward.
“I think he will pass it forward a bit more,” he added, drawing a line between Rice’s club form and England’s attacking rhythm. “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.”
It is a sharp critique of a player many see as undroppable, and it lands at a delicate moment in the tournament.
England winning, but not convincing
Tuchel’s campaign started with a statement. A 4-2 victory over Croatia in the opener suggested England might finally marry talent with swagger on the biggest stage.
Since then, the mood has cooled.
A lifeless stalemate against Ghana, in which England failed to break down stubborn resistance, raised familiar questions about creativity. The Panama game did little to silence them. England laboured for over an hour before finally prising the door open, eventually easing to a 2-0 win but never quite catching fire.
Scholes has seen enough to doubt their current ceiling.
“It wasn’t great, was it?” he said of the Panama display. “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’s the tension around this England side: results on one side, performance on the other. Seven points, but no statement of dominance.
Butt backs Rice but agrees on system
Scholes isn’t alone in believing Tuchel must loosen the handbrake in midfield. His former Manchester United and England teammate Nicky Butt also wants just one holding player against DR Congo.
The difference is which one.
“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 taking the opposite stance on personnel.
“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.”
Anderson, currently at Nottingham Forest but set for a huge move to Manchester City in a deal worth £116m, has impressed enough to force his way into this debate. That alone tells you how much Tuchel’s midfield puzzle has shifted.
One thing both ex-midfielders agree on: two sitters against a side expected to see little of the ball makes no sense.
DR Congo await as scrutiny sharpens
England’s last-32 opponents, DR Congo, finished third in Group K after beating Uzbekistan, drawing with Portugal and losing to Colombia. They are awkward, organised, and dangerous enough to punish complacency, but they will not dominate possession.
That context fuels the argument raging around Tuchel’s selection. Does he trust Rice’s authority and big-game nous, or lean into Anderson’s forward thrust? Does he double up in front of the defence again, or finally commit to a more attacking blend?
England have match-winners. They have a manager desperate to end six decades of hurt. They also have a fanbase and a generation of former players who will not stay quiet if the football feels timid.
On Wednesday night, in a knockout tie they are expected to control, Tuchel’s team sheet will say plenty about how bold he really is.
