So the indefatigable Declan Rice is not, it turns out, indefatigable at all. How could anyone be after 63 games and counting in the past 11 months?
Rice has only one speed, full gas. The revelation that he has been managing a delicate hamstring since Christmas, which accounted for his 72nd-minute substitution against Croatia, introduces an unwanted variable for Thomas Tuchel.
Though Rice insists he is ready to go against Ghana in England’s second match, Tuchel will want to protect against the pernicious threat of a fully blown hamstring, which is clearly a risk and would be terminal at this tournament.
The idea of resting Rice, whilst anathema to most, might actually represent an opportunity for Tuchel, a chance to accelerate the development of England into a team that controls as well as ransacks the opposition.
Whilst England’s second-half eruption settled the matter against Croatia, the first half was a reminder of how retrograde the national team can be, a passive ensemble emphatically removed from Premier League trends.
