Thierry Henry has backed Thomas Tuchel's decision to replace Declan Rice at half-time during England's 2-1 World Cup quarter-final win over Norway, and suggested the Three Lions manager was also unhappy with Noni Madueke's performance.
England's Gritty Victory
England advanced to the World Cup semi-finals, where they will face Argentina, after needing extra time and two goals from Jude Bellingham to overcome Norway on Saturday. Rice, who had been struggling with illness this week, started the match but was substituted at half-time alongside Arsenal teammate Madueke, who failed to make an impact on the right wing.
Speaking after the match, Henry told Fox Sports that Bellingham and Harry Kane are 'carrying' England, but emphasized that Tuchel deserves significant credit for his tactical changes.
Henry's Praise for Tuchel
'Grit, despite, wanting to, I said before, who wants it the most? You saw the desire of Jude Bellingham,' Henry said. 'Bellingham scores but Harry Kane, the amount of time he recovered the ball, he defended for everybody, he held the ball, he gained free-kicks, but you have two guys here who are almost, not almost… they are carrying England, they are.'
Henry also defended Tuchel's reaction to questions about England's mentality in his post-match interview with ITV. 'I didn't understand the questions, the guy was telling you it was all effort and mentality and you're asking about mentality,' Henry said. 'He was talking about the technical aspect of the game. I think he wasn't happy with Madueke, he wasn't happy with the speed, he wasn't happy about it, that's why he changed stuff straight away.'
Tuchel's Tactical Decision
When asked about replacing Rice, Tuchel revealed that the Arsenal midfielder had been bedridden due to illness. 'Declan we made a decision at half-time to become more offensive, a bit of an offensive shift,' Tuchel said. 'I made the decision when we were 1-0 down and I didn't want to go back on the decision because of the equaliser. Knowing Declan's struggles in the last three days where he was most of the time in bed, I knew he could not survive 90 minutes and there was a possibility of 120 minutes.'
Henry praised Tuchel's boldness: 'He took Declan Rice off, nobody does that usually, I don't know what happened, something very important, he does that.'
Fighting Spirit Restored
Henry, who lives in England, noted the team's renewed fighting spirit. 'I'm not English but I could relate to the fighting spirit and it's very much how they are. Living in England, people were always complaining that they couldn't relate to that team, but if you don't relate to that team and the way they play… hopefully the technical aspect of the game will come but the fighting spirit is back.'
England's semi-final against Argentina will be a test of their resilience as they aim for World Cup glory.
