Overview
- Rice's corner assisted Harry Kane's second goal in England's 4-2 win over Croatia on Wednesday, and England posted the highest non-penalty set-piece xG on matchday one.
- The midfielder says Arsenal coaches Mikel Arteta and set-piece specialist Nico Jover turned him into a regular dead-ball taker whose deliveries have been replicated by England's coaching staff.
- Rice revealed he has managed neural pain in his upper hamstring since around Christmas and was withdrawn late against Croatia as a precaution.
- Despite the disclosure he has trained and declared himself fit to face Ghana in Boston, pundits and ex-players have urged cautious rotation to protect his fitness for later rounds.
- Arsenal's season-long set-piece output underpins this shift in tactics and the World Cup's condensed schedule increases the risk of overload, making selection choices for matches against Ghana and Panama ones to watch.