{"id":505344,"date":"2025-10-16T23:18:17","date_gmt":"2025-10-16T23:18:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/505344\/"},"modified":"2025-10-16T23:18:17","modified_gmt":"2025-10-16T23:18:17","slug":"declan-rice-gives-his-verdict-on-englands-world-cup-chances-and-opens-up-on-his-leadership-role-in-thomas-tuchels-dressing-room","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/505344\/","title":{"rendered":"Declan Rice gives his verdict on England’s World Cup chances – and opens up on his leadership role in Thomas Tuchel’s dressing room"},"content":{"rendered":"

By OLIVER HOLT, CHIEF SPORTS WRITER<\/a> <\/p>\n

Published: 18:01 EDT, 16 October 2025 | Updated: 18:01 EDT, 16 October 2025 <\/p>\n

A man purporting to work for a Baltic sports agency had found his way into the mixed zone at the Daugava Stadium on Tuesday night and started shouting all manner of bizarre questions about the \u2018Latvian lads\u2019 at Declan Rice<\/a> as he stood talking to journalists.<\/p>\n

Rice blinked back the questions with a broad if slightly puzzled smile and waited for the man to be removed before he carried on as if nothing had happened. Rice is good at that. He has become such an accomplished and composed player that nothing seems to disturb his style.<\/p>\n

He thought for a moment about what his expectations were for the World Cup next summer now that England<\/a> had sealed their qualification for the tournament with a crushing 5-0 victory over the home team in Riga. Maybe he was wary of being accused of being over-confident but he chose his words well.<\/p>\n

\u2018We want to win it,\u2019 he said. \u2018That\u2019s going to be a bold statement but we\u2019re England and we have world class players all over the pitch. If we didn\u2019t think like that, I think that would be weak mentality from us.<\/p>\n

\u2018We all want to win the World Cup, we\u2019d all love that, to get our hands on that in our career. You see so many of the best players in the world, they\u2019ve won that in the past, and what it meant to them. There\u2019s a long way to go and it\u2019s just about building to that moment.\u2019<\/p>\n

Rice is having a fine season at the heart of Arsenal<\/a>\u2019s midfield and has led them to the top of the Premier League<\/a> as they prepare for Saturday evening\u2019s clash against Fulham<\/a> at Craven Cottage. Others talk about him openly as the finest midfielder in the division and he is one of the first names on Thomas Tuchel<\/a>\u2019s teamsheet.<\/p>\n

\"Declan <\/p>\n

Declan Rice has urged that England fully believe they can win the World Cup next summer<\/p>\n

\"Thomas <\/p>\n

Thomas Tuchel’s Three Lions qualified for the tournament with a superb 5-0 win over Latvia<\/p>\n

\"The <\/p>\n

The Arsenal star has established himself as one of the leaders in the England dressing room<\/p>\n

\u2018I feel probably the fittest I\u2019ve ever been at this stage of the season,\u2019 Rice said. \u2018I just feel really strong. When you\u2019re confident in football, that\u2019s one of the main things. I\u2019ve had that for the last few years, I\u2019ve felt really confident in my game.<\/p>\n

\u2018I\u2019m more confident within the group, too. I feel like one of the senior England players now. I think it took me a few years in this England team to get to that stage but tonight was cap 70 for me. So it\u2019s going so quickly. I\u2019m still only 26 you know.<\/p>\n

\u2018I just need to keep going, keep playing well. I\u2019m in the leadership group, the lads ask me for opinions, I\u2019m really close with the younger guys here, and obviously I get on really well with the older guys. It\u2019s good to bridge the gap between the two. I just want to do everything I can to help the team as we look towards next summer.\u2019<\/p>\n


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