Declan Rice feels like he will get an assist “every time” he takes a corner – and the England vice-captain has told supporters to be “excited” for what is to come at the World Cup. The 27-year-old midfielder was instrumental in England’s 4-2 win over Croatia in their opening match, delivering the cross that led to a penalty for Harry Kane’s first goal and then providing the corner from which Kane headed home his second.
Rice has become one of the most consistent corner takers in the Premier League after Arsenal’s set-piece coach Nico Jover and manager Mikel Arteta identified his ability from dead balls. “They said that I can put balls in areas from a dead ball that no-one else can in the team at Arsenal other than Bukayo [Saka],” Rice told BBC Sport at England’s base in Kansas City. “From that moment, I really just bought into that, believed in that.” The Gunners scored from a record 19 corners last season as they won their first Premier League title in 22 years, and Rice now carries that confidence onto the international stage.
“Declan Rice says he expects an assist from every corner and urges England fans to be excited for the World Cup.”
“As time has gone on I feel like now every time I put down a ball for a set-piece – whether it’s a corner or a wide free-kick – I feel like I’m going to get an assist or make something happen that’s dangerous,” Rice said. “That’s a good mentality to have over set-pieces … and England fans can be excited.”
England boss Thomas Tuchel, who took over in January 2025, has put an emphasis on replicating the style of the Premier League. Rice said the team have worked on set-pieces under the German, though the tactical side has dominated training sessions. “We only get a small amount of time here to work on them because we have to work on loads of other stuff,” Rice explained. “But also we’ve been putting this format and the way we’re going to take set-pieces in since Thomas has come in.”
England face Ghana next in their second group game, with fitness concerns over Bukayo Saka, who trained alone due to a niggling injury. Marc Guehi, Saka and Marcus Rashford are competing for starts as Kane and Rice have allayed any fitness fears. Sunday’s World Cup action also includes Spain vs Saudi Arabia, Belgium vs Iran, Uruguay vs Cape Verde, and New Zealand vs Egypt, but for England fans, Rice’s message was clear: the best is yet to come.