Tuchel explains Declan Rice 'gamble' after England reach World Cup semi-finals

Rice had already been struggling with a neural problem affecting his back and hamstring before also being hit by a stomach bug ahead of Saturday's clash.

Despite those fitness concerns, Tuchel included the Arsenal midfielder in his starting line-up as England battled to a 2-1 extra-time victory to book their place in the 2026 FIFA World Cup semi-finals.

Rice's afternoon ended at half-time, with Tuchel insisting the substitution was part of a tactical plan rather than a reaction to his performance.

"We made a decision at half-time to become more offensive, to have a bit of an offensive shift," Tuchel said after the match.

"I made the decision when we were 1-0 down and didn't want to go back on the decision because of the equaliser."

The England boss admitted Rice had endured a difficult build-up to the quarterfinal and was never expected to last the full match.

"We had to take Elliot (Anderson) or Declan (Rice) off, knowing that Declan struggled after the last three days, when he was most of the time in bed," Tuchel said.

"I knew he could not survive 90 minutes."

With the match eventually going into extra time, Tuchel said he wanted to manage his substitutions carefully.

"There was a possibility that it would go 120 minutes, so I didn't want to waste another change. The decision was to take Declan out earlier than he needed to go out, just to save us another change later in the match."

England's comeback victory over Norway has earned them a place in the semi-finals, where they will face Argentina at Atlanta Stadium on Wednesday with a place in the World Cup final at stake.