According to The Sun, manager Thomas Tuchel revealed that midfielder Declan Rice is highly likely to be the vice-captain of the England national team at the 2026 World Cup.
Manager Thomas Tuchel has just officially confirmed that Arsenal midfielder Declan Rice will take on the role of vice-captain for the England national team at the 2026 World Cup, supporting captain Harry Kane. This information was revealed by the German tactician right after the group of Arsenal players reported to the training camp over the weekend.
According to The Sun, he said: “I consider Declan to be my vice-captain. I am considering whether to make this an official decision or not. We discussed this matter when Harry was not present at the training camp with the squad.”
In fact, during the recent 1-0 friendly victory over New Zealand in Tampa, Jude Bellingham was the one who wore the captain’s armband in the second half. Explaining the decision to give this honor to the 22-year-old star, Thomas Tuchel stated: “He has the highest number of caps [on the pitch at the time]. You can double-check that.”
However, with 72 caps for the national team compared to Jude Bellingham’s 47, Declan Rice is still highly likely to be the preferred choice for England’s vice-captain position. This decision marks a transition in the Three Lions’ leadership group, succeeding the roles held by Kyle Walker (at EURO 2024) and Jordan Henderson (2022 World Cup).
Midfielder Declan Rice, along with teammates Bukayo Saka, Eberechi Eze, and Noni Madueke, have started training after an extended break due to their recent participation in the Champions League final against PSG.
England still has one more friendly match against Costa Rica early Thursday morning (Vietnam time), before officially embarking on their journey to conquer the World Cup golden trophy in North America.
