Rice’s Tactical Shift to Right-Back Proves Effective

England’s late tactical twist came from the shadows of the dugout, not the spotlight of the touchline.

After the match, Thomas Tuchel revealed that it was assistant coach Anthony Barry who spotted the opening and pushed for the surprise switch that reshaped England’s right flank. Declan Rice, the heartbeat of midfield, was told to finish the game at right-back.

It changed the game’s geometry in an instant.

“Anthony Barry had a brilliant idea to put Declan there,” Tuchel admitted, as quoted by The Sun.

The logic was simple but sharp: move Rice wide, and England gain a different kind of threat from the flank. “To have his quality from the side, to get more difficult crosses in there, more difficult to defend, more crosses and outswingers.”

The shift did more than tweak angles. It gave England’s right side a spine.

With Rice shuffling across, Bukayo Saka suddenly had extra insurance behind him, and Eberechi Eze found a cleaner connection on that channel. The combinations grew sharper, the attacks more layered. Tuchel didn’t dress it up. “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.”

From the bench, it looked like a clever coaching adjustment. On the pitch, for Rice, it felt like a storm.

The Arsenal midfielder admitted that those closing minutes, out of his natural zone and thrown into a reactive role, stretched him to the limit both physically and mentally. He still played a crucial part in the build-up to the equaliser, but the chaos around him turned his brief spell in the backline into a test of pure resilience.

“It was probably the hardest 12 minutes of the game having a stint at right back,” Rice said afterwards.

The match had broken into a frantic, end-to-end contest. “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.”

England eventually wrestled some control, but Rice was clear: they made life harder than it needed to be.

“I think we made more hard work of it than we needed to,” he admitted.

This wasn’t entirely new ground for him, though. “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.”

That line summed up his night. Out of position, out of comfort, but never out of commitment.

“12 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.”

The assistant’s idea worked. The manager owned it. The midfielder endured it. The question now is whether that emergency fix becomes a weapon England are willing to reach for again when the next game hangs in the balance.