England star Declan Rice has confirmed he’s ‘good as gold’ despite needing to come off late in their 2-1 FIFA World Cup Round of 32 win over DR Congo. The 27-year-old was replaced by John Stones moments after Harry Kane netted his second goal in Atlanta to seal a comeback win.
The Arsenal midfielder sat out England’s previous match against Panama due to a calf problem, while he’s also dealt with back and hamstring concerns. However, Rice, who could be seen with ice on his left hamstring while on the bench, is expected to be ready for Monday’s Round of 16 game with co-hosts Mexico.
“It’s what happens when you play in 30-degree heat I suppose,” Rice told BBC Radio 5 Live. “Tough game. Give it everything and bodies been through a lot in that match. Time to recover and go again.”
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The midfielder then confirmed: “I’m fine. Good as gold.”
It proved to be a grueling game for England, who fell behind in the seventh minute when Brian Cipenga beat Jordan Pickford at his near post. The Three Lions labored throughout before Kane ultimately delivered the goods with strikes in the 75th and 86th minutes to flip the contest around, as per The Mirror.
Rice was shifted to right-back late in the game, with Djed Spence having struggled badly against Cipenga. Should Reece James and Jarell Quansah remain sidelined through injury, Thomas Tuchel may be tempted to keep the 27-year-old in the back four.
“It’s a knockout game,” Rice continued. “They’ve got through a tough group and it was never going to be easy. You can never underestimate opposition as a neutral, as a player because they have quality and can hurt you at any given moment and they did.
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“But other than that I think we had so many chances. Their goalkeeper, credit to him, he had an absolute worldie.
“Harry Kane, inevitable, scoring them goals. It was a deserved win but made a bit more hard work than we should’ve done. The main thing is knockouts we win and that’s what we done. “.
England have been rewarded with a trip to Mexico City, where they’ll face off at the legendary Estadio Azteca. The stadium sits 2,240 metres above sea level, and Mexico have never suffered a World Cup defeat on its turf.
Across 89 competitive games at the Estadio Azteca, they’ve been beaten just twice. England will be hoping to follow in the footsteps of Brazil and Argentina come Sunday.
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