"He's one of those players that can tell the kids when they're older that they got to play with Harry Kane." Declan Rice believes the Bayern Munich striker stands up against any of the strikers at the World Cup. The England midfielder admitted he gets star struck by just how good Kane is, while insisting England can go all the way this summer.
Fitness fears over both Rice and Kane were allayed ahead of England's second group match against Ghana. Marc Guehi, Bukayo Saka and Marcus Rashford are competing for starts. Thomas Tuchel has given an encouraging update on Saka, who arrived at the World Cup camp carrying an Achilles injury.
“Declan Rice says he will tell his kids he played with Harry Kane, as England prepare to face Ghana.”
Rice acknowledged the tough test against Ghana, particularly against former Arsenal teammate Thomas Partey. "I played against Thomas, so I played with Thomas at Arsenal. A really good player, but also I've played against a lot of the Ghana team," Rice said. "They're going to bring strength and pace. They want to catch us out on the counter attack. So yeah, we need to be ready for everything."
After a winning start against Croatia, Rice said the second half was "probably the best half of football we've played under Thomas." He added: "That performance was the benchmark now and if we keep playing like that then we will be a match for anyone and we should have confidence in our ability and believe we can beat anyone in this tournament."
Rice also highlighted Kane's leadership: "He's our captain. But two, how he leads by example every day and how he pushes in training. It's not a surprise to me how good he is just because of the goals he scores in training and what he's been doing at Bayern Munich and what he's been doing in an England shirt. It's been an honour to play with him."
England are determined to avoid a repeat of past second-game struggles. "We are just as motivated if not more motivated to win. Harry spoke about it earlier that we haven't always had a great result in the second game so we have to get that right," Rice said. The nation holds its breath as England face Ghana in the World Cup 2026.