Paul Scholes Calls for Declan Rice to Be Dropped Against DR Congo

Paul Scholes has never been one to tiptoe around a big call. This time, his gaze has fallen on one of England’s untouchables.

The Manchester United legend believes Thomas Tuchel should drop Declan Rice for England’s World Cup last‑32 tie against DR Congo, arguing the Arsenal midfielder is not what this particular game needs.

England arrive at the knockout stage having topped Group L with seven points from nine, yet without ever fully convincing. They opened with a breathless 4-2 win over Croatia that hinted at something serious building under Tuchel in the United States. Since then, the tempo has dipped.

A flat, goalless draw with Ghana stalled the early optimism. The 2-0 win over Panama steadied the group campaign, but only after England laboured for over an hour to find a way through. It was efficient, not electric.

Rice, nursing an ongoing injury concern and one booking away from suspension after a yellow card against Ghana, sat out the Panama match. His absence was billed as precautionary. His return for the DR Congo clash has been widely assumed.

Scholes would not bring him back.

“England don’t need to play two sitting midfielders in the next game,” he said on The Good, The Bad & The Football podcast, making his case for a bolder approach against opponents expected to see little of the ball.

“No disrespect to Congo but in those type of games you play as many attackers as possible. I think it has to be a straight shootout between Declan Rice and Elliot Anderson, and I think I would just go with Anderson.”

That is a striking verdict on a player widely regarded as one of the most complete midfielders in the world. Scholes’ argument is not about Rice’s quality, but his profile for this specific contest.

“I think he will pass it forward a bit more,” Scholes said of Anderson. Then he turned the spotlight back on Rice’s club form. “Think about Rice with Arsenal… look, he’s a great player and a great leader, I get all that, and you’d rather him in your team than not most of the time.

“But Arsenal didn’t play great football last season either, did they? Rice couldn’t get [Martin] Odegaard in the game, so maybe that’s transferred a bit to England. I don’t think that happens with Anderson.”

It is a sharp critique, cutting to the heart of a familiar debate: control versus incision. Tuchel has leaned on security in midfield so far, often fielding two deeper players to protect a back line that still looks like a work in progress. Scholes sees that as unnecessary caution for a knockout tie where England are likely to dominate territory and possession.

His scepticism extends beyond the Rice question. Reflecting on the group stage as a whole, he did not dress up his concerns.

“It wasn’t great, was it?” he said of the Panama performance. “Across the three games I don’t think I’ve seen a team that will win the World Cup.

“It hasn’t been great but look, they could get better and they’re winning games and I do think they’ve got match winners in the team. I just don’t think they’re at the level of France or Argentina yet.”

Scholes is not alone in calling for just one holding midfielder. Another member of that treble‑winning Manchester United midfield, Nicky Butt, has reached the same tactical conclusion, but drawn the opposite name.

“You can’t play two sitting midfielders against teams who aren’t going to have any of the possession,” Butt said. On the key selection, though, he is unequivocal.

“I’d definitely play Declan Rice in the next game so I would leave Elliot Anderson out.

“I think he’s been brilliant and is a top, top, top player which is why Man City have gone and paid £120m for him. I just don’t think you can leave Declan Rice out. He’s one of those players you just don’t leave out.”

That difference of opinion between two former teammates captures the crossroads Tuchel now faces. The Germany coach has been tasked with ending 60 years of English hurt on the world stage, and he has navigated the group with results if not fireworks. The next step demands a choice: lean into experience and stability with Rice, or tilt towards Anderson’s forward thrust and the extra attacker Scholes craves.

Waiting on the other side of that decision is a DR Congo side that finished third in Group K after beating Uzbekistan, drawing with Portugal and losing to Colombia. They are organised, awkward, and unlikely to open up. The kind of opponent that can turn an underwhelming performance into a full‑blown crisis if England get stuck in second gear again.

Tuchel has match‑winners at his disposal. He has a midfield general in Rice, and a rising force in Anderson, on the brink of a huge move from Nottingham Forest to Manchester City in a deal worth around £116m. He cannot pick both in the same role.

So the debate is set. One sitting midfielder, everyone agrees. The real question is whose name is on the teamsheet when England walk out for a knockout game they simply cannot afford to overthink.