Former England attacker, Wayne Rooney has expressed his concerns regarding his country’s right-back situation following the team’s tense victory over DR Congo, suggesting that Thomas Tuchel should have promptly contacted Kyle Walker after Tino Livramento was ruled out of the World Cup.
England finds itself with limited options at right-back after deciding to call up Chelsea centre-back, Trevoh Chalobah to replace Livramento, who had to withdraw due to a calf injury before the tournament commenced.
Reece James was initially Tuchel’s preferred choice for the position, but further injury woes struck the Three Lions as it was revealed that the full-back is suffering from a hamstring injury.
Jarell Quansah faced significant challenges while filling in for James during England’s 2-0 win over Panama, and there was a sense of déjà vu as Djed Spence had a difficult outing against DR Congo in the round of 32 match tonight.
England’s lackluster defense ultimately relied on Harry Kane to rescue them in Atlanta, with the iconic Bayern Munich striker netting two goals to secure a 2-1 victory after the team fell behind early in the match.
Kane and his teammates will continue their campaign at the Estadio Azteca on Monday, facing co-hosts Mexico, who progressed to the last 16 by defeating Ecuador.
Reacting to Spence’s nervy display of DR Congo in the BBC Sport studio, ex-England captain Rooney said, “We’ve seen it before where players have come out of retirement… I think the minute Tino Livramento got injured, I think they should have been straight on the phone to Kyle Walker.
“Kyle’s still more than good enough and more than capable of playing in this England team.
“I would have been on the phone to him and saying, “Listen, we need you here so can you come out and help us”, because that could really cost us.”