Thomas Tuchel appoints Declan Rice as England vice-captain

Thomas Tuchel confirmed Declan Rice as England’s vice‑captain for the World Cup after arriving at the camp in Florida. The 27‑year‑old midfielder joined the squad at the West Palm Beach base. Rice arrived at the West Palm Beach base with Arsenal teammates Bukayo Saka, Noni Madueke and Eberechi Eze on Saturday evening. Their teammates had just beaten New Zealand 1‑0 in Tampa. Rice came from playing a key role in Arsenal winning the Premier League and narrowly losing the Champions League final last weekend. His recent club form underlines his importance to the national side. Rice has 72 caps for England and stepped up as captain during Harry Kane’s absence in the October friendly against Wales. Tuchel said he would serve as vice‑captain throughout the World Cup campaign.

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Tuchel explained that he had discussed the captaincy with Ollie Watkins and that Rice was named captain in that conversation. He added that the vice‑captain role might not be official yet. Rice and the Arsenal contingent began work with the group on Sunday. England’s next warm‑up match is against Costa Rica in Orlando. Tuchel said the approach for Wednesday’s friendly will be different, with larger chunks of minutes for players. He also mentioned a behind‑closed‑doors session after the Costa Rica game to balance playing time.

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England have a behind‑closed‑doors meeting scheduled with Miami FC, a USL Championship club previously managed by Alessandro Nesta. The Florida outfit will provide training support ahead of the World Cup. England will travel to their Kansas City base on Saturday and kick off the World Cup campaign against Croatia on 17 June. Group L also includes Ghana and Panama.