Thomas Tuchel Hands Declan Rice New England Leadership Role as Arsenal Stars Join World Cup Squad

Declan Rice has been handed a major leadership role within England’s World Cup squad after manager Thomas Tuchel confirmed the midfielder as the team’s vice-captain and identified him as a potential future captain.

The Arsenal midfielder has emerged as one of Tuchel’s most trusted players, with the England manager placing Rice alongside captain Harry Kane in what he described as a “special group” of untouchable starters.

Rice will now take on greater responsibility within England’s leadership structure, which continues to be led by Kane.

Speaking about the appointment, Tuchel suggested that Rice has effectively become his second-in-command — although he admitted he was unsure whether the decision had been formally communicated.

When asked who would serve as vice-captain, Tuchel said:

“I think I would say Declan is my vice-captain.”

Pressed on whether Rice had officially been informed, Tuchel smiled and replied:

“That is a good question. 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? We started with Ollie Watkins and I think Declan was captain. That was where I told him.”

Rice captained England during last year’s friendly against Wales, and Tuchel’s latest comments appear to reinforce the midfielder’s standing within the national setup.

With Kane turning 33 next month, Tuchel is also understood to be planning ahead regarding future leadership, and Rice appears to be at the forefront of those long-term considerations.

Arsenal Quartet Report for England Duty

England’s Arsenal contingent have now linked up with the squad at their training base in West Palm Beach following the recent friendly victory over New Zealand in Tampa.

Rice has been joined by Bukayo Saka, Eberechi Eze and Noni Madueke as preparations continue for the World Cup.

However, Tuchel indicated that he has yet to decide how heavily the returning players will feature in Wednesday’s friendly against Costa Rica.

The England manager explained:

“It will be different against Costa Rica. We will get bigger chunks of minutes because it is part of the build-up and then after that we will have six days or something for Croatia. We need some players to play 60 or 70 minutes.

“I am not sure about the Arsenal players. Let’s see how they come back. Three training days and let’s see. We have one more match behind closed doors the next day to manage all the minutes.

“Let’s say if someone plays 70 minutes against Costa Rica and someone else only plays 20, that is also not enough so there will be players who only had 20 or 30 minutes and will play the next day again.”

Tuchel’s approach reflects England’s intention to carefully manage workloads and build match sharpness across the squad ahead of the tournament opener.

With leadership plans becoming clearer and squad integration continuing, England’s preparations are entering a decisive phase as Tuchel seeks the right balance between experience, fitness and momentum heading into the World Cup.