Tuchel Praises Barry’s Tactical Shift with Rice's Late Role

Tuchel hails Barry’s “brilliant” call as Rice survives brutal late switch to right-back

Thomas Tuchel did not try to claim this one as his own. When the tactical tweak that helped turn the game finally came, he pointed straight to his assistant.

The England manager revealed that it was Anthony Barry who spotted the shift that changed the dynamic on the right flank, pushing Declan Rice into an improvised role and giving Bukayo Saka the kind of support that had been missing.

“Anthony Barry had a brilliant idea to put Declan there,” Tuchel admitted, as quoted by The Sun. “To have his quality from the side, to get more difficult crosses in there, more difficult to defend, more crosses and outswingers.

“Also have a bit more support for Bukayo [Saka] and with Ebs [Eze] we had a bit more of a connection on the right side that helped and opened it up. So full credit to my assistant.”

The change did exactly what it was designed to do. England’s right side, previously predictable, suddenly carried a different kind of threat. Rice, stepping wide, could deliver from deeper angles, while Saka and Eberechi Eze found pockets to combine and drag defenders out of shape. The equaliser grew from that renewed structure and supply line.

For Rice, though, those closing stages were far from comfortable.

“It was probably the hardest 12 minutes of the game having a stint at right back,” the Arsenal midfielder admitted afterwards. The match had broken into chaos by then, end to end, with both sides trading attacks at full tilt. “In games like that it was probably too much of a basketball match at times, back and forth, and we had to take the sting out of it because they have fast wingers.”

Rice’s contribution to the build-up for the leveller underlined why Barry wanted his passing and composure out wide, but the 25-year-old did not hide how demanding the emergency assignment felt. He has dipped into the role before this season, two or three times by his own count, yet this was different: a knockout-style spell in a game that refused to calm down.

“I think we made more hard work of it than we needed to,” he said. “I have played there two or three times this season, I know the role, it is probably not my biggest strength but to do anything for the team and the manager. 12 minutes left I said I would do my best and I think I did well there.”

That blend of honesty and reliability is exactly why coaches trust him with these late, awkward jobs. He will not pretend to be a natural full-back. He will still take it on.

“Let’s see what happens next game but hopefully I don’t have to be at right back,” he added, half-smiling, half-relieved.

Tuchel and Barry now know they have another emergency card to play on that flank. Rice, after surviving what he called the toughest 12 minutes of the night, will be hoping their next “brilliant idea” keeps him a little closer to home in midfield.