Reece James has overcome his recent hamstring problems and is set to start in England’s World Cup semi-final against Argentina on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
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The Chelsea captain was unsurprisingly included in Thomas Tuchel’s final 26-man World Cup squad earlier this summer, but after Tino Livramento was forced home on the eve of the tournament, has been forced to play an even bigger role.<\/p>\n
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Despite club teammate Trevoh Chalobah being Tuchel’s late pick to replace Livramento, it was James who started in both of the Three Lions’ first two group games. Unfortunately, a familiar hamstring strain \u2014 suffered late on against Ghana \u2014 sidelined him for the nation’s next three matches though.<\/p>\n
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There is hope James is now fit enough to start on Wednesday, though.<\/p>\n
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Reece James ready to start for England against Argentina<\/h2>\n
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The Chelsea captain returned during England’s 2-1 quarter-final win over Norway, coming off the bench to replace Anthony Gordon after 71 minutes.<\/p>\n
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The full-back, although asked to go into central midfield, completed 49 minutes worth of play after the match went to extra-time, and now he’s set to go one better against Lionel Messi’s Argentina in Atlanta.<\/p>\n
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According to Sky Sports, with the exception of the suspended Jarrel Quansah and Jordan Henderson, who broke his wrist in England’s celebrations after beating Mexico, Tuchel has an almost-full squad to pick from on Wednesday.<\/p>\n
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Although there were some worries over Manchester City’s Nico O’Reilly after he tweaked his hamstring against Norway, the 21-year-old is well placed to start for the seventh consecutive time. <\/p>\n
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In addition to City’s young left-back and along with the fatigued Declan Rice, who has recently battled a sickness bug, James is also expected to be fit enough to start against the 2022 World champions later this week.<\/p>\n
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James’ availability could be the difference<\/h2>\n
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James’ expected availability will be a major boost for Tuchel, who, up until this point, has been plagued by injuries with the right-back position a particular area of concern.<\/p>\n
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Although Djed Spence and Ezri Konsa have both done exceptionally well whenever called upon, there is no way either defender starts ahead of Chelsea’s number 24. <\/p>\n
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On his day, James is arguably the world’s best right-back, and with the likes of Julian Alvarez and Messi to contain, there is no other man Tuchel will want starting at the back than the Blues’ skipper.<\/p>\n
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The Three Lions are just one game away from reaching only their second-ever World Cup final where they could face either Spain or France. <\/p>\n
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