Declan Rice has declared that England are ready to follow Arsenal's example by ending their long wait for a World Cup triumph. The Arsenal midfielder helped the Gunners secure their first Premier League title in 22 years this season, and he sees the same determination within the England squad to win the World Cup for the first time since 1966.
Rice Draws Parallels Between Arsenal and England
Rice, speaking ahead of England's World Cup campaign, highlighted the similarities between Arsenal's title-winning mentality and the current England setup. "I think it's just about not getting distracted, focusing on the job. I think that's what we've done at Arsenal this year. Hunger to win more, for sure," he said.
He recalled Arsenal's near misses in recent seasons, finishing second in the Premier League twice before finally clinching the title. "We obviously had a couple of close calls in the last few years finishing second, but this year, I noticed a difference in terms of blocking out the outside noise, focusing on what we know we're good at, internally working really hard to achieve what we've done."
Drawing a direct comparison to England's recent tournament heartbreaks, Rice added: "And here, with England, I feel like we've had two Euros finals losses. And we've got that fire in us to know we want to go one step further, and we believe if we can."
Tuchel's Impact on England
Rice also credited England manager Thomas Tuchel for raising the team's standards, describing him as "incredible" both as a man-manager and tactician. He singled out Tuchel's half-time team talk during England's group opener against Croatia, which inspired a comeback victory in Dallas.
"I've always known and seen what he's like as a manager, but I feel like he thrived in this environment. I feel like he knows that. He knows he's one of the best. We know he's one of the best," Rice told ITV.
"And with this squad we have, we can achieve great things with him. And that's obviously on us to deliver it up. For sure, he’s said it as a man manager, and as an in-game manager, he's incredible. We knew the whole game plan, we knew exactly how we wanted to play. That was the problem at half-time."
Rice revealed that Tuchel's half-time address was unlike anything he had heard before. "Stuff we'd worked on, he hadn't liked what he'd seen in that first half, and he said what he felt. It was just that it gave you a whole different perspective of a football match. It was something you wouldn't usually hear, from a manager at half time and I think it was what we all needed to hear. You're kind of listening to it thinking: ‘wow.’ He's actually spot on."
England's World Cup Ambitions
England have not won the World Cup since 1966, a 60-year drought that Rice and his teammates are determined to end. With a squad featuring world-class talent and a manager who has already won major trophies, including the Champions League with Chelsea, the belief is growing that this could be England's year.
Rice's comments reflect a squad that is focused and hungry, drawing inspiration from Arsenal's recent success. As the tournament progresses, all eyes will be on whether England can channel that same fire into lifting the World Cup trophy.
