Declan Rice says ‘best England group’ since 1966 close to ending wait for title
By Press Association Sport Reporters
Declan Rice is convinced “the best England group for a very long time” is close to ending the nation’s wait for glory after a thrilling conclusion to their World Cup campaign.
Thomas Tuchel’s men will head home without the trophy they craved, but having secured their best finish at the tournament since they won it in 1966 after a remarkable 6-4 victory over France in Saturday night’s third-place play-off in Miami.
England, and Tuchel in particular, had been criticised for the way in which they surrendered a 1-0 lead over Argentina in Wednesday’s semi-final to lose 2-1, but Arsenal midfielder Rice is confident their time will come sooner rather than later.
He told BBC Sport: “This is the best England group for a very long time. That’s a fact. No-one can take that away from us.
“I think we can be proud as a group – we are just gutted we lost in that semi-final.
“We’re tired of saying we’re proud of coming in semi-finals and quarter-finals – we want to win with England ultimately. But to come third in this tournament is a real achievement.
“We’re so close, honestly. There’s been so much talk about this group over the last few years going out of tournaments. There’s been semi-final exits, quarter-finals, finals.
“I think we need to keep going. I do think it’s close. It’s a game of small margins. It’s football and the other night, we lost on margins and in the boxes.”
England may not have won a major trophy for 60 years, but their chances of doing so have improved significantly in the last decade with Gareth Southgate having guided them to the last four at the 2018 World Cup in Russia, the last eight in Qatar four years later and the finals of Euro 2021 and 2024.
Skipper Harry Kane has been a key member of all those teams, and he believes the current squad is “unique”.
Kane told BBC Sport: “[It’s) one of the best England groups that I have ever been a part of.
“When you see the boys around the hotel, when you see us training on the pitch, when you see us in the changing room, it is a unique group. We had that bond and had so much belief in each other.”
German Tuchel, who was booed by some England fans ahead of Saturday’s game in Miami, has borne the brunt of the frustration over his team’s failure to make it to the final this time around.
However, Kane is confident he will learn from the events of the last few weeks as he plots the way ahead.
The Bayern Munich striker said: “It is his first major tournament. I think he has learned a lot of the squad, the campaign, the travel and the games and what it takes, the pressure.”
