Carra: England can't afford to rest Rice, but Saka shouldn't be risked

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.

"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."

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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."

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.