England right-back – With England set to face DR Congo for the first time ever in the World Cup knockout stage on Wednesday afternoon in Atlanta, their staff and experts are split on how to fix the right-back problem. Bukayo Saka’s fitness, Declan Rice’s role, Marcus Rashford’s pl
The real work starts now for England.
They have reached the World Cup knockout stage and will face DR Congo for the first time ever on Wednesday afternoon in Atlanta. The gap between group-stage experimentation and the ruthless simplicity of knockout football is already obvious. Thomas Tuchel’s side have fired in fits and starts. with plenty of changes to his starting lineup in the group stage against Croatia. Ghana and Panama.
Now there are no second chances. The selection dilemmas feel immediate and personal, because they go straight to the fault line England have tried to cover all tournament: their defence, and specifically how they fill the growing hole at right back.
Bukayo Saka is one of the names at the heart of the debate. Did he do enough to prove his fitness over Noni Madueke?. Another question is whether Marcus Rashford retains his place after Panama. while others are asking if Jude Bellingham should stay as a No 8. The bigger issue. though. is right back—where Ezri Konsa is seen by several experts as the safest option. while Djed Spence and other experiments are treated as high-risk.
England’s World Cup setup for the next step has been mapped by a team of experts covering the tournament in North America. Their lineups are designed to beat DR Congo and set up a last-16 clash with either Mexico or Ecuador in Mexico City.
Oliver Holt. Chief Sports Writer
Holt points to what he sees as the gap between Bellingham’s influence and the defensive exposure around him. He says Bellingham was superb in the deeper-lying midfield role. but England’s defence—called out as an achilles’ heel—looked exposed against Panama. and that cannot happen again.
Holt’s answer is to move Bellingham back to 10 and bring back Rice, if he is fit. He would also bring back Stones. arguing England miss his composure when he isn’t there. even if he did not impress against Croatia. For the right-back problem. Holt’s view is blunt: “Right back’s a mess. ” and Ezri Konsa looks like the best option.
Ian Ladyman, Football Editor
Ladyman does not think Djed Spence is the answer at right back. He would shuffle Konsa over to plug the gap. and ask Stones to fit in to his natural position on the right side of the centre-back pairing. In Ladyman’s reading, that left Stones out of position on the left against Croatia.
He also keeps the midfield shape anchored around Rice. Bellingham, Ladyman says, was excellent as a box-to-box 8 against Panama, but England can’t leave Rice out if he is fit—so Bellingham should move up behind Kane once again.
Ladyman pushes back on the criticism of Marcus Rashford after Panama. He says he didn’t understand it, that Rashford did fine, and that it should be his spot to lose now.
Craig Hope, Chief Football Reporter
Hope is tempted by a direct fix: he would put Rice at right back, especially given how good Bellingham was breaking forward from a deeper starting point of No 8.
But he stresses that Tuchel needs resistance in midfield, because Panama broke on England far too easily. He also thinks Bellingham can impact from any domain. For right back, Hope again returns to the practical choice: Konsa is the safest bet.
Hope then turns to the Saka-versus-Madueke question. He would start Madueke ahead of Saka—not because he prefers Madueke, but because Saka “looks far better from the bench right now.”
Jack Gaughan, England Reporter
Gaughan wants a small system tweak with a big aim: create space for Bellingham to run forward. He says he would play two No 8s in Declan Rice and Jude Bellingham, giving Bellingham more room when going forward and not forcing him to collect the ball with back to goal.
Right back remains the central worry. Gaughan says it’s clearly an issue with Jarell Quansah and Reece James struggling. His proposed solution is an easy-to-understand one—Ezri Konsa. with the decision between him and Djed Spence described as a flip of a coin. Still, Gaughan’s preference is for John Stones back in the side.
Mike Keegan, Chief Sports Reporter
Keegan frames Bukayo Saka’s possible role as a way to deal with two problems at once. He acknowledges the talk around Saka’s fitness and England’s right-back crisis, then argues for using him there.
He points to Saka’s past output in a wing-back role. Saka, Keegan says, was the highest-rated defender of the entire round—and scored—when England beat Switzerland on penalties in the 2024 Euros quarter-final in a wing-back role.
On Marcus Rashford, Keegan says Rashford made a strong-ish case against Panama, but he does not want to give up on Anthony Gordon. He references two under-par performances from Gordon and says he is due a good one—and “so are England.”
Ian Herbert. Deputy Chief Sports Writer
Herbert’s line is built around leadership and composure. and it comes straight through Declan Rice. He says he watched a lot of Arsenal last season and remembers places where the going wasn’t easy. including Wolves in the snow in February. In those moments, he says Rice was the only leader that night at Molineux.
For Herbert, Rice has not been talked up enough. He wants Rice back as the midfield shield, which would also allow Bellingham back into the 10 role where he can be at his most dangerous.
He also backs Noni Madueke, saying he is a “big Madueke fan” and would stick with him from his last XI. Herbert compares Rashford and Gordon and says, with repeated assessment, that Rashford is better than Gordon looking pretty accurate so far. He also says Guehi over Stones.
Riath Al-Samarrai, Chief Sports Feature Writer
Al-Samarrai presents his selection logic as a blend of necessity and a tactical refresh. He says Spence is in there through necessity and the mess of Tuchel’s own making, with Bellingham returning to his No 10 slot.
He says he has always advocated for Bellingham playing the deeper role, but cannot justify leaving out Rice, while Anderson has done enough to keep his place for now. Dropping Bellingham further back is treated as a decent option for a tactical shift later in the game.
Al-Samarrai returns to the final piece of the right-side puzzle: Saka has a bit to prove on the right.
For England, the challenge on Wednesday in Atlanta isn’t just about beating DR Congo. It is about deciding what kind of team they are willing to be when the margin shrinks to zero—whether they lean into Konsa’s familiarity. gamble with Spence or push Rice into a new position. and whether Saka is ready to shoulder the responsibility after all the questions about his fitness.
Whatever Tuchel chooses, the knockout stage will make the answers impossible to hide.
England DR Congo World Cup knockout stage Atlanta Declan Rice Bukayo Saka Noni Madueke Marcus Rashford Jude Bellingham right back Ezri Konsa Djed Spence John Stones Jarell Quansah Reece James Mexico City
Right back chaos?? Just play someone who can defend lol.
I don’t get it, why is everyone blaming Saka? If he’s fit he should play. Also DR Congo in Atlanta sounds random.
They’re talking about Tuchel but it says England like it’s a whole team problem. Maybe they should stop experimenting in knockout games cause that never ends good. And what does Declan Rice even do at right back… wasn’t he supposed to be midfield? Probably just move him and hope.
Atlanti-uh Georgia weather gonna mess up the right backs, watch. Also they said Saka’s fitness and then Rice’s role and then Rashford’s pl?? sounds like they don’t even know what lineup they picked. England always does this, hype then panic in the KO and then someone acts surprised.