England star begged Thomas Tuchel to take him off during win over DR Congo

Thomas Tuchel has revealed Declan Rice was dealing with ‘terrible pain’ in England’s win over DR Congo – but insists he will be fit to face Mexico.

The Arsenal midfielder returned to the starting line-up on Wednesday to help the Three Lions secure their spot in the last-16 of the World Cup.

Shutterstock Editorial

Rice missed England’s final Group L clash against Panama due to a calf injury he picked up in the 0-0 draw with Ghana.

Meanwhile, he limped off during his side’s 4-2 opening win against Croatia.

He subsequently declared that he has been battling nerve pain in his hamstring since December.

The 27-year-old was restored to Tuchel‘s XI against DR Congo, but was taken off in the closing stages following a 12-minute stint at right-back.

And he sparked fear that he could potentially be a doubt to face co-hosts Mexico with the player seen holding an ice pack on his left hamstring immediately after being replaced by John Stones.

It’s been a gruelling 2025/26 season for Rice, who helped Arsenal end their 22-year wait for Premier League glory, having featured in 65 games for club and country, including the Champions League final.

What has Tuchel said about Rice’s injury concern?

But Tuchel has insisted that Rice, who asked to be withdrawn against DR Congo, remains in line to start against Mexico at the Azteca on Sunday at 6pm local time [Monday morning, 1am, UK time].

The England boss remarked: “I asked him very late and he said, ‘I can do it for the team, but I am in terrible pain.’

“When Declan tells you that he is in terrible pain, then you know he cannot take it anymore, so he was grateful that we took him off.

“He just said after the game it’s not an issue, he will recover, so there is no injury.

Getty

“He was just in pain so I hope he is right, it’s more of a nerve pain.”

When pressed whether Rice can go from game to game, Tuchel then stated: “He can, yeah.”

Despite England winning a first World Cup game since the victorious 1966 final against Germany in which they conceded first – thanks to Harry Kane‘s late double – many have been left underwhelmed by their recent performance.

But speaking to talkSPORT’s England correspondent Faye Carruthers, Rice has praised his side’s mentality – insisting their win was never in doubt.

He said: “Welcome to the knockouts, exactly what we’ve seen over the last few days [Germany and Netherlands crashing out].

“Potential upset on the horizon up until the 65th, 70th minute, but we knew we was going to win, I was on the pitch, all the players felt it.

“We was going to keep getting chances, their keeper [Lionel Mbasi] was just out of this world today, some of the saves…

“And the manager said before we just got to keep knocking it down, in the end there will be a crack and two goals from Harry, it’s a really really big win today.”

Commenting on whether the squad felt the stress from fans in the stands, Rice added: “People need to understand, footballers, we don’t think like that.

“We went 1-0 down, that’s football, they have quality, it’s not like we’re playing a load of players who can’t play football, they have quality, they have really good players.

“To go 1-0 down, that can happen, it was about staying calm.”

He concluded by saying: “Fans asked for a more open game and more attacking and more going towards the box, that’s what happened.

“We created so many chances and in the end it was two late goals, so we’re happy.”