Roy Keane makes England prediction ahead of World Cup semi-final with Argentina

Roy Keane has predicted England will ‘come up short’ in their quest for World Cup glory this summer.

The Three Lions came from behind to beat Norway and reach the semi-finals as Jude Bellingham struck twice in a gritty 2-1 victory over Norway on Saturday night.

Andreas Schjelderup opened the scoring with an audacious effort in the 36th-minute before Bellingham took centre stage to drag his side over the line and set up a mouthwatering meeting with Argentina.

England’s squad have three days to rest and recuperate before taking to the field at Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium, where a clash against one of France or Spain will be at stake.

Thomas Tuchel boss will be hoping the short break can breathe new life into Declan Rice, who was brought off for Arsenal team-mate Eberechi Eze at the halfway stage in Miami.

The England boss later revealed that Rice had ‘spent most of the time in bed’ trying to get over an illness in the build-up, having already missed the side’s group-stage defeat of Panama due to a neural hamstring issue.

Discussing Rice’s struggles on Stick to Football, delivered by Sky Bet, former Manchester United captain Keane suggested there was always going to be a ‘tipping point’ for Rice given the midfielder’s workload over recent seasons.

‘I always think when you get viruses that you are a bit rundown and you are feeling not great about yourself,’ Keane said.

‘That’s when you pick up these viruses or these bugs, he’s not at his strongest.

‘When you’re a little but rundown, that’s when something gets to you. He couldn’t raise a gallop could he?

‘He’s not a robot. There’s been lots of pressure and over the last few years, going back to his West Ham days, he never misses a game. At some stage there’s a tipping point.

‘I know at Arsenal there’s different demands and he had a run in Europe, they had a run in the two cup competitions, the pressure of trying to win the league, he’s a big player for England… and again, he never misses a game.

‘I can’t imagine him missing too many training sessions and he’s not a robot so come this stage of the season he’s probably thinking, “I’m running on fumes now”, and that’s what it is.’

Regardless of whether Rice manages to get himself back to full fitness, though, Keane cannot see the Three Lions going all the way this summer.

‘We said at the start of the tournament that players will go down, you might miss a Rice, somebody will get suspended,’ the ex-Republic of Ireland international added.

‘Lads will come into the team and do a big job for you. Some of the fringe players will step in and if Rice does miss out, somebody will step in. That’ the nature of the game.

‘I still think they’ll come up short even with Rice. They’re still short.’

Keane believes Tuchel deserves great ‘credit’ for his positive substitutions throughout England’s campaign.

‘He doesn’t wait [to make changes], though, the manager, so credit to him for that,’ he continued.

‘The top managers don’t wait, they gamble. How many times have you been at a match and you’re going, “What are they waiting for?”, and he just takes the initiative.

‘The goal on half-time will have helped, obviously, with the mindset, the feeling of the dressing room, but he doesn’t mess about.’

England’s eagerly anticipated semi-final encounter with Argentina takes place in Atlanta on Wednesday, 15 July at 20:00 BST.

Remarkably, Argentina superstar Lionel Messi will line up against the Three Lions for the first time in his international career should he feature Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

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