Declan Rice has officially been appointed as the vice-captain of the England national team by Thomas Tuchel. This announcement came in the wake of Jude Bellingham donning the captain’s armband during the latter part of England’s 1-0 triumph over New Zealand.
While Bellingham took charge after entering the match as a substitute in Saturday’s World Cup warm-up in Tampa, Tuchel clarified that this was merely a result of him being the player with the most international caps on the field at that moment.
The England head coach made it clear that the scenario would have been different had Rice, a pivotal figure in England’s leadership core, been present on the matchday roster at the Raymond James Stadium. Rice had previously captained the national side in a match against Wales last October while Harry Kane was sidelined.
“I would consider Declan as my vice-captain,” Tuchel stated when queried about the leadership roles within the team. “I was contemplating whether this is an official designation. We had discussed this previously when Harry was absent from camp. Was it against Wales? When Harry missed that game? We initially started with Ollie [Watkins], and Declan was our captain then. That’s where I communicated it to him.”
During their time in Florida, the team is focusing on adapting to the warm climate, treating the match against New Zealand more as a training drill. Tuchel rotated different line-ups throughout both halves, with Kane exiting after netting the winning goal just before halftime. Bellingham came on during the interval, but Tuchel humorously urged the media not to read too much into the young midfielder wearing the captain’s armband in Kane’s absence, pointing out, “He had simply the most caps. You can verify that.”
As England prepares to take on Costa Rica in their final warm-up match before facing Croatia in Group L on June 17, Tuchel indicated that his selection strategy may shift. He mentioned that several players would see over an hour of playtime against Costa Rica but was uncertain if he would field his ideal starting lineup for the World Cup.
A key consideration is whether Tuchel envisions Bellingham fulfilling the No. 10 role in his preferred formation. Morgan Rogers has established himself as a reliable option after a strong showing during the qualification rounds. The Aston Villa forward played the first half against New Zealand, while Bellingham made an impression upon his arrival, although Tuchel emphasized that the Real Madrid star still has to fight for his spot.
“He is,” the former Chelsea boss affirmed. “He’s among the starters, he understands that, but there are approximately 14 or 15 players who could start. Then, there’s a specific group and a leadership group. We also have players who finish matches and bring the right energy, setting standards and accepting their roles when challenges arise. These roles can evolve, but in my mind, there are around 14 or 15 true starters, and Jude is one of them.”
The Arsenal players reported to England’s training base in West Palm Beach on Saturday, but Tuchel remains uncertain about the involvement of Rice, Eberechi Eze, Noni Madueke, and Bukayo Saka against Costa Rica. “We will assess their return,” he noted. “Three training sessions await us, and we’ll see how it goes. We have one more match behind closed doors to manage playing time. If someone plays 70 minutes against Costa Rica while another only gets 20, that won’t suffice. Some players will only have 20 or 30 minutes and will participate again the following day.”
A challenging pitch during the match against New Zealand posed additional complications. “We wanted to be here primarily to acclimate to the heat, which I think we managed quite well,” Kane remarked. “The field conditions weren’t ideal, and we had to contend with that. Such situations can arise in a tournament. We prefer to play quickly and with precision, but that wasn’t always feasible on that pitch. It felt a bit sticky and dry. This is just the first week, and the match served as another step in our preparation.
“The drink breaks are beneficial. Many people discuss the heat, but I don’t believe it will be as significant an issue as anticipated. A few of the players and I felt fine during the first game. We’ve been training in these conditions, and it hasn’t been too taxing. It’s easy to claim it will be very challenging since it differs from our usual environment. However, we are all athletes, professionals who have competed in warm weather conditions before.”
