Thomas Tuchel has confirmed that Premier League winner Declan Rice will deputise for England captain Harry Kane at the World Cup.
Rice is the fifth most capped player in the World Cup squad, representing his country 72 times.
The 27-year-old enjoyed a stellar season as vice-captain at Arsenal, winning the Premier League and earning a nomination for PFA Player of the Year.
Despite Jude Bellingham captaining England in Kane’s absence in the second half of England’s 1-0 warm-up win against New Zealand on Saturday, Rice will serve as Kane’s vice-captain.
Rice has captained England twice before, most recently filling in for Kane in October’s friendly against Wales.
Rice has captained England twice before, most recently filling in for Kane in October’s friendly against Wales
The 27-year-old enjoyed a stellar season as vice-captain at Arsenal, winning the Premier League and earning a nomination for PFA Player of the Year
‘Er, I think I would say Declan is my vice-captain,’ England boss Tuchel said.
‘Does Declan know that?’ Tuchel was asked.
‘That is a good question,’ Tuchel said. ‘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? Did Harry miss a game against Wales? Does anyone remember?’
England kickstart their World Cup campaign against Croatia on June 17 in Arlington, Texas.
