Gary Neville claims Thomas Tuchel copied ‘wrong Mikel Arteta decision’ for England
Gary Neville admits he was ‘crying out’ for Thomas Tuchel to use Declan Rice as the solution for England’s problem at right-back at the World Cup.
The Arsenal midfielder was forced to play on the right side of England’s defence in the closing stages of their 2-1 win over DR Congo on Wednesday.
Thomas Tuchel now faces a selection problem in that position for England’s last-16 game against Mexico, which kicks off at 1am on Monday morning.
Reece James missed England’s wins over Panama and DR Congo due to a hamstring injury and did not take part in full training on Friday, while Jarell Quansah could also be unavailable once again due to an ankle problem.
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Neville admits he was critical of Mikel Arteta’s decision to play Rice at right-back for Arsenal last season but has warned that Tuchel’s inability to find a solution for that position will ‘cost’ England at the World Cup.
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‘He [Rice] went to right-back for Arsenal in a game at West Ham I watched a few months ago and I thought it was the wrong decision by Mikel Arteta at the time but I was actually crying out for it in the second half to put him there,’ Neville told ITV.
‘I said before the tournament we’ve got four defenders but they need to become a back four. They’re actually, individually, quite good defenders one on one but I actually don’t think they’re a unit yet. I think the vulnerability we’ve got is very concerning.
‘It’s not the first time, I can think of three or four tournaments I went to where the full-back position in general was disrespected where people might think, ‘can we take five strikers and leave a left-back out?’.
‘In 2006 I think I got injured in the first game against Paraguay then Jamie Carragher went there, then David Beckham ended up going there, so it’s something similar, it’s a position you think you can fudge and get away with.
‘It’s actually costing England in games right now and it’s a problem. It’s a problem defensively and a problem going forward.
‘Declan Rice when he went into that position showed that if you go forward and combine on that side.
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‘We knew before we got there that we had two injury prone right-backs, [Tino] Livramento goes out then he brings [Trevoh] Chalobah in… bring a right-back in. We’ve played four matches and so far we’ve played five right-backs. which tells you he’s [Tuchel] all over the place in that position. At some point it will cost us.’
Speaking after the win against DR Congo, Rice admitted he would not relish the prospect of starting at right-back against Mexico.
‘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,’ Rice said.
‘Twelve minutes left I said I would do my best and I think I did well there. Let’s see what happens next game, but hopefully I don’t have to be at right-back.’
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Article source: https://metro.co.uk/2026/07/04/gary-neville-claims-thomas-tuchel-copied-wrong-mikel-arteta-decision-england-29021841/