Declan Rice is much more dangerous when he is moving forward into space from a center-back or fullback position than when he is stuck in a crowded left half-space trying to combine with Anthony Gordon or Marcus Rashford.

England should stop thinking of Rice as a midfielder who has to live in midfield. They should think of him as a player who steps into midfield.

Rice can cross, and cross, and cross. But he needs space to do it.

There is not a center-back in football better at covering large swaths of space than Declan Rice. Not William Saliba, not Virgil van Dijk, no one.

That is why this should not be a temporary experiment. For England, Rice should permanently start from the defensive line.

He should be arriving in midfield, not starting there.

Rice is not as good in tight spaces as Jude Bellingham, Morgan Rogers, or Eberechi Eze. His best work comes when he has grass in front of him.

Give him space to carry. Give him space to open his body. Give him space to cross.

The left half-space does not really suit him in this England team.

Anthony Gordon and Marcus Rashford are not natural combination partners for Rice. They want to run, attack space, and receive early. They are not the type of players who naturally pull defenders around with short, tight combinations.

Add Nico O’Reilly into that area and the space becomes even more congested.

England do not need Rice trapped in a crowd of DR Congo shirts in the left half-space. They need him arriving from deep, seeing the whole pitch, covering space defensively, and then stepping forward into room.

To make that left half-space work, England would need a different structure.

They would need Rashford holding width or threatening behind, a smaller and more mobile midfielder like Rogers carrying inside and drawing defenders, and a fullback constantly creating space with overlapping and underlapping runs.

That setup could work, but it does not feel like the best use of Rice.

Rice’s value is different.

His value is that he can begin deeper, defend huge spaces, and then step forward when the pitch opens up.

The structure I would use is Declan Rice at right center-back and Ezri Konsa at right-back.

In possession, England can form a 2-3 sub-structure against a deep block, with Rice running the John Stones role and O’Reilly inverting from the left. Rice can step into midfield, receive facing forward, and attack the space behind Bukayo Saka.

John Stones can then come off the bench for Rice when England need to manage minutes or change the rhythm of the game.

Against better opposition, England can use a more conservative 3-2 sub-structure when they need more cover in defensive transition. Rice and O’Reilly can stay in a back four, while Harry Kane drops back to connect the attack.

This is a formation and system Thomas Tuchel is familiar with. The players are familiar with it too. I don’t understand why they avoided this solution.

Rice can play as a right center-back. He can play as a right-back. He can play on the left side of the defense.

But in this squad, his best starting positions are probably right center-back or right-back because of England’s lack of depth on the right side of defense. If England had brought Trent Alexander-Arnold with them, that would be different.

Those are starting positions, not fixed positions.

Rice will still move into midfield. He will still arrive in the half-space. He will still become part of the attack.

The difference is that he gets to do it with momentum and space rather than with his back to goal in traffic.

At right-back, especially against teams who defend deep, Rice can rest on the wing behind Saka.

There are fewer moving parts. He can stay wide, receive in space, and cross from deeper areas. If the opportunity is there, he can also burst beyond Saka on the underlap and cross from the byline.

That is the point: he gets to cross from space.

Rice does not need to be involved in every tight combination. He does not need to receive between three players in the left half-space. He needs to be able to see the pitch, stride forward, and deliver.

England changed this formation after the water break in the second half against DR Congo. Two goals from two crosses from Rice at right-back, and they advance. It’s simple.

At right center-back, Rice can do something similar, but the initial angle is different.

He can defend big spaces. He can step into midfield. He can arrive behind Saka in the right half-space. He can help England maintain rest defense while still becoming part of the attack.

That movement will happen whether he starts as a right-back or a right center-back.

He is always going to end up behind Saka in the right half-space. The question is whether England want him starting wider, as a right-back, or deeper and narrower, as a right center-back.

Rice’s legs and back are not going to hold up if England ask him to cover this much space in midfield for every minute of every match. But England are still going to want him on the pitch because of what he gives them in possession and in transition.

He can still influence the attack, but he does not have to constantly fight through the most crowded part of the pitch. He can rest in the back line or on the wing, then choose his moments to step forward.

That is a better use of his body and a better use of his skill set.

The point is not to turn Rice into a traditional defender.

The point is to give him a platform where his best attacking qualities show up more often.

Give Rice space, and he can become one of England’s best crossing outlets.

Play him at right-back or right center-back, and he will still end up where England want him: behind Saka, in the right half-space, with time to cross.

This is something that is true for England, and it can also apply to Arsenal, as I’ve said previously. I said it when he was at West Ham, and I said it when he was at Arsenal, and it’s an obvious choice to make for England because they have an over abundance of midfielders and fewer quality center-backs.

This is not a new good problem to have.