2026-06-08 09:37:31

Declan Rice will serve as England’s vice captain for the 2026 World Cup.

The 27-year-old Arsenal midfielder, who has earned 72 caps for his national team, is among the most experienced members of Thomas Tuchel’s starting lineup and recently won the Premier League with the Gunners.

Speaking after the Three Lions beat New Zealand in a friendly before the tournament, Tuchel said: “I think I would say Declan is my vice captain.”

He had filled in for skipper Harry Kane during an October friendly against Wales, with Ollie Watkins replacing the Bayern Munich striker up front.

Asked if Rice knew he would be made vice captain, the England boss added: “That is a good question. I was just thinking about it. Whether it is an official thing or not.

“But I think we had this talk when Harry was not in camp with us. We started with Ollie and I think Declan was captain. That was where I told him.”

Rice has now joined the England training camp along with his Arsenal teammates Bukayo Saka, Noni Madueke and Eberechi Eze.

The quartet were part of the Gunners squad that won the club’s first league title since the 2003/04 season, while they lost to Paris St-Germain on penalties in the Champions League final.

On Wednesday (10.06.26), England be in Orlando, Florida for one more friendly against Costa Rica, while they will also take on Miami FC in a behind-closed-doors fixture.

Over the weekend, they will travel to their World Cup base in Kansas City, before their tournament run kicks off with a match against Croatia on June 17.

They will also face Ghana and Panama as they hope to progress past Group L and into the knockout stages of the tournament.

In the 2022 World Cup, they lost 2-1 to France in the quarter finals, having missed out in 2018 after an extra time semi-final defeat to Croatia.

England were losing finalists at Euro 2020 and Euro 2024 after losing to Italy and Spain respectively.

This will be Tuchel’s first tournament in charge of the Three Lions after Gareth Southgate’s stint in the dugout.

Visit Bang Premier (main website)