There are not many players in the England squad that you would genuinely worry about losing, but Declan Rice is absolutely one of them. So the news coming out via BBC Sport that he is likely to be available to start against Mexico will have come as a big relief to pretty much everyone associated with the national team, and probably a few neutrals too.
Rice has been carrying an injury, which is never ideal when you are heading into a World Cup knockout tie, but the signs are encouraging that he will be fit enough to take his place in the starting eleven. England will be hoping he comes through any final fitness checks without any setbacks because he is the kind of player who changes the dynamic of a match just by being on the pitch.
What Rice brings to England is something that sounds simple but is actually quite rare. He does the ugly work that makes everyone else look good. He breaks up play, he drives forward, he covers ground, and he makes the team feel like it has an engine. Without him, England can look a bit soft in the middle, the kind of team that lets games drift and then wonders why they conceded from a set piece in the eighty-third minute.
Mexico are no pushovers either, so England will need everyone firing. They are an organised, physical side who are very comfortable making a game scrappy and uncomfortable. That suits them, and it is exactly the kind of match where having Rice alongside you in midfield makes a massive difference to how settled the whole team feels.
If Rice is fit and starts, England go into this one with genuine confidence. If he is not, it becomes a more nervous afternoon. The fact that the reports are positive is the best possible update England fans could have received, and you would imagine the coaching staff will manage him carefully in the build-up to make sure he gets through it.
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