England remain hopeful Declan Rice will be fit to start Wednesday’s World Cup semi-final against Argentina, although the midfielder will undergo a late assessment after continuing his recovery from illness.
Rice was forced off at half-time during England’s dramatic 2-1 extra-time quarter-final victory over Norway after struggling with a sickness bug that had already left him bedridden for three days before the match. Head coach Thomas Tuchel confirmed after the game that the Arsenal midfielder had been unable to train normally because of the illness.
The 26-year-old is understood to have contracted the bug while England were in Mexico for their last-16 victory over the tournament co-hosts. While he has yet to make a full recovery, his condition has improved significantly over the past two days, giving the England camp increasing confidence that he could feature from the start in Atlanta.
Rice is expected to push to play given the importance of the occasion, but England’s medical staff will make a final assessment before kick-off. Tuchel is also expected to wait until the last possible moment before deciding whether to include one of his most influential midfielders in the starting lineup.
Alongside the illness, Rice has also been managing a neural issue affecting his lower back and hamstring for several months. Despite that problem, he has started every England match at the World Cup except the group-stage victory over Panama, which he missed because of a flare-up.
Meanwhile, FIFA has confirmed that American referee Ismail Elfath will oversee the semi-final between England and Argentina.
The 44-year-old has already officiated three matches at this year’s tournament, including Japan against the Netherlands, Uruguay versus Spain and Norway’s last-16 victory over Brazil. During those games, Elfath issued six yellow cards and one straight red card, sending off Uruguay midfielder Agustin Canobbio for a high challenge on Spain defender Pau Cubarsi. Canobbio later confronted the referee following his dismissal.
Elfath, who has been a Major League Soccer referee since 2012, will be assisted by fellow Americans Corey Parker and Kyle Atkins for the semi-final.