Jamie Carragher has advised Thomas Tuchel to make one change for England’s second World Cup group game against Ghana, urging the manager to start Marc Guehi and avoid risking Bukayo Saka. The Three Lions began their World Cup campaign with a 4-2 win over Croatia last week, and a victory against Ghana on Tuesday night would secure their place in the knockout stages.
Carragher wants Guehi in starting lineup
Carragher, a former Liverpool and England defender, told Sky Sports he was surprised Guehi did not start against Croatia. “For me, the first player in the back four would’ve been Marc Guehi,” he said. “I was surprised that he didn’t play. I was worried about John Stones and the amount of football he’s had. Not even just in the last few weeks, it’s over the last few years. To expect someone to come into a game like that and perform at his absolute best, I’m not quite sure about that one.”
Carragher acknowledged Stones’ experience but insisted Guehi should be starting. “He gives something different from the others who are more out-and-out defenders. Stones has great experience as well. You’re bringing him to play. There’s no point in bringing him to sit on the bench. But for me, Marc Guehi would be playing. I’d probably give Stones another go and try and get up to speed. Hopefully by the time you get to the really big games in the knockout stages, he’s had two or three full 90 minutes under his belt and looks a lot better.”
No rest for Rice, but caution for Saka
On Declan Rice, Carragher dismissed any notion of resting the midfielder against Ghana. “You don’t rest when you’re at the World Cup. If England could win the next game, maybe you’d look to do that in the third game if you’re guaranteed top spot. But no, I don’t think you’re in a situation where you’re resting Declan Rice. I think it was more precautionary than too much of an injury [Tuchel’s decision to take Rice off vs Croatia]. It’s something that he’s been carrying for a lot of the season. He’s been one of the best players in the league. It hasn’t affected him too much at all, playing for Arsenal. It was probably the right decision to bring him off and make sure he’s 100 per cent fit for this game. If needs be, get this game won and out of the way and rest him against Panama.”
However, Carragher urged caution with Saka, who made a cameo appearance against Croatia. “The fact that he didn’t start the first game means it’s probably a little more serious than what Rice has got. He did miss a lot of football last season. It looks like this is a little bit more of a problem for him. I don’t think you do risk it because you don’t want to lose him for the tournament. But the longer the tournament goes without him starting a game, it’s very difficult to expect him to come in for the knockout games and be at his absolute best. The longer Madueke is in the team or if he starts the next game and it goes well, it might be difficult for Bukayo to get back because of the nature of the tournament. But it’s certainly not one to take a risk with because the tournament has started – you don’t want to lose a player.”
Carragher warns against overexcitement
England’s performance against Croatia drew widespread praise, but Carragher cautioned against getting carried away. “I think there’s been a lot of really good performances from a lot of teams. I think the World Cup has been brilliant. I think the star players have lit it up. We’re getting carried away, as we should, with our one game. I said, a lot of other teams have put in really good performances as well. I think you shouldn’t forget the first half against Croatia. Not just because we conceded a couple of goals. It was a little bit awkward. The reason we’re probably getting a bit excited is because from minute 45 to 75, we looked fantastic. We’re basing it on a brilliant half an hour of football. I don’t think we should get too carried away, but we’re in a great position in terms of the group. I don’t know how beneficial that’ll be going forward because there’s a lot of teams or groups maybe not looking like we thought they would at the beginning of the tournament. I’m not 100 per cent sure we’ll get the run we expected before the tournament, and that could cause a problem in itself. So, let’s just enjoy what we’re doing now, get these two group games out of the way. Once we get to the knockout stage and we can see the run, maybe we can start getting a little bit excited.”
England are aiming to win the World Cup for the first time since 1966, having come close under former manager Gareth Southgate, who led them to back-to-back European Championship finals and deep runs in the 2018 World Cup (semi-finals) and 2022 World Cup (quarter-finals).
