Thomas Tuchel has officially designated Declan Rice as the vice-captain of the England national team, downplaying the importance of Jude Bellingham wearing the captain’s armband during the latter half of the recent 1-0 win over New Zealand.
Although Bellingham took charge after joining the match as a substitute in the World Cup warm-up game held in Tampa, Tuchel clarified that this was merely due to Bellingham having the highest number of international caps among the players on the field.
The head coach emphasized that circumstances would have changed had Rice, a pivotal figure in England’s leadership core, been available for the match at Raymond James Stadium. Rice, who had been granted a break along with three other Arsenal players following the Champions League final, previously captained the national squad in a match against Wales last October when Harry Kane was absent.
“I would say Declan is my vice-captain,” Tuchel remarked when asked about the appointment. “I was contemplating whether it was an official designation or not. However, I believe we discussed this when Harry was not with us in camp. Was it against Wales? Did Harry miss a game against Wales? We started with Ollie [Watkins], and I think Declan was captain. That was when I informed him.”
During their training stint in Florida, England aimed to acclimatize to the local heat, with the match against New Zealand serving primarily as a practice session. Tuchel rotated the line-ups throughout both halves, pulling Kane after he netted the winning goal just before halftime. Bellingham was brought on at the start of the second half, but Tuchel urged reporters not to read too much into the 22-year-old taking over the captaincy in Kane’s absence. “He had just the most caps,” the German coach noted. “You can verify that.”
As England prepares to face Costa Rica in their final warm-up match in Orlando, Tuchel plans to adopt a different strategy regarding player selection. He mentioned that some players are expected to play for more than an hour, yet he remains uncertain if he will deploy his preferred starting lineup for the World Cup.
The key consideration is whether Tuchel envisions Bellingham as a starting No. 10 in his optimal formation. Morgan Rogers has gained recognition after a commendable performance during the qualifying rounds, having played the first half against New Zealand. Bellingham made a noticeable impact upon his introduction, but Tuchel emphasized that the Real Madrid midfielder is competing for his position.
“He is,” the former Chelsea manager confirmed. “He’s one of the starters, he knows that; however, there are 14 or 15 potential starters. Then there’s a special group and a leadership group, along with players who finish matches and set the energy levels, contributing to maintaining high standards and accepting their roles in challenges. These roles can shift, but in my mind, there are 14 or 15 genuine starters, and Jude is among them.”
The Arsenal players joined the England squad at their pre-tournament base in West Palm Beach on Saturday, but Tuchel is uncertain about the involvement of Rice, Eberechi Eze, Noni Madueke, and Bukayo Saka against Costa Rica. “Let’s see how they return,” he said. “We have three training days ahead, and we’ll evaluate. There’s one more match planned behind closed doors to manage the minutes played. If someone competes for 70 minutes against Costa Rica while another only plays for 20, that will not suffice. Some players may only see 20 to 30 minutes and then play again the following day.”
One challenge faced during the match against New Zealand was the subpar condition of the pitch. “We chose this location primarily for the heat, and I believe we managed it quite well,” Kane commented. “The pitch was not optimal, so we had to adapt. Such situations can occur during the tournament. We prefer to play quickly and sharply, which was not always feasible on that surface. It was somewhat sticky and dry. This is just the first week, and this match was another step in our preparation.
“The drinks breaks are beneficial. Many people discuss the heat, but I don’t believe it will be as significant an issue as some suggest. A few of us felt quite fine in the initial game. We’ve been training in these conditions, and it hasn’t been too harsh. It’s easy to claim it will be extremely difficult, given that it differs from our usual environment. However, we are all athletes, professionals who have competed in warm climates before.”
