Thomas Tuchel has named Declan Rice as England’s vice-captain for the World Cup, anointing the Arsenal midfielder as the natural successor to Harry Kane. The 27-year-old, who captained England during Kane’s absence against Wales last October, will take on extra responsibility in the Three Lions’ leadership group.
“I think I would say Declan is my vice-captain,” Tuchel told reporters after Saturday’s 1-0 friendly win over New Zealand in Tampa. When asked whether Rice knows he has that role, the manager smiled: “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. Was it against Wales? We started with Ollie Watkins and I think Declan was captain. That was where I told him.”
“Thomas Tuchel names Declan Rice England vice-captain for the World Cup, marking him as future captain.”
Rice, who has 72 caps, has just helped Arsenal win the Premier League for the first time since 2003-04 and reach the Champions League final, which they lost on penalties to Paris St-Germain. He is one of four Arsenal players – alongside Bukayo Saka, Eberechi Eze and Noni Madueke – who were given time off after the final before joining England’s training camp in Florida on Sunday.
Tuchel played down the significance of Jude Bellingham wearing the armband in the second half against New Zealand, insisting the Real Madrid midfielder simply had the most international appearances among those on the pitch. “He had just the most caps. You can check it out,” said the German.
The manager now faces a selection dilemma for Wednesday’s friendly against Costa Rica in Orlando, their final warm-up before the World Cup opener against Croatia on 17 June. “It will be different against Costa Rica,” Tuchel said. “We need some players to play 60 or 70 minutes. I am not sure about the Arsenal players. Let’s see how they come back. Three training days and let’s see.” England also have a behind-closed-doors game with Miami FC before travelling to their Kansas City base on Saturday.
With Kane turning 33 next month, Tuchel is clearly thinking about life after the captain – and Rice is top of the list. “He is in a ‘special group’ of untouchables,” the manager said, placing the midfielder alongside Kane as a nailed-on starter. For now, the armband remains with Kane. But the succession plan is already in place.