The risk of playing Declan Rice in World Cup group finale against PanamaThomas Tuchel may opt to leave Declan Rice out of England’s final Group L match against Panama to avoid risking his absence for the round of 32.Rice picked up a yellow card in Tuesday’s drab goalless draw with Ghana in Boston, which saw the Three Lions stay level with the African nation on four points at the top of the group.It means England have business to do in their third group outing against Panama on Saturday 27 June but midfield mainstay Rice could be dropped to avoid the risk of suspension.Will Castle24 June 2026 10:29England player ratings v GhanaReplacing Manchester City teammate John Stones in the starting XI, Guehi slotted in seamlessly. Should start at the back for the foreseeable, such is his poise and pace. Had a header cleared off the line in stoppage time.A surprise starting pick over Nico O’Reilly, Spence was solid on his first World Cup start. While he didn’t actually face a single one-on-one battle with Antoine Semenyo, he did cover well to deny Marvin Senaya after his second-half burst into the box.Struggled to influence proceedings in the same way as he did against Croatia, but perhaps inevitable given Ghana’s shape. Didn’t do enough with a free header at the back post on 61 minutes.(Getty)Kieran Jackson 24 June 2026 10:14Declan Rice urges England to remain ‘positive’It’s always difficult when you play against 11 behind the ball and as deep as they were. You have to find solutions and the last 10 minutes we probably found more than we did the whole game,” Rice told BBC One.“We were probably a bit unlucky not to score, but, look, we stay positive. We keep going and still have a great chance to top the group against Panama, so positivity all round.“You have to give credit to Ghana – 5-4-1, off the ball very, very compact, tight space to play through, but of course on the other hand, maybe we can do more with the ball and create a bit more.“Look, it’s tough. They are good players, it was never going to be an easy game and now we have one more in the group to finish top, so we need to be positive.“Loads of top nations drew their first game. No need to be negative or downbeat. We need to stay positive, keep going and recover for the next match. That’s what we will do.” Jack Rathborn24 June 2026 09:59England player ratings v Ghana Did not have a single save to make but was perhaps fortunate to escape without sanction after a collision…
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