Declan Rice admitted that he had been left “speechless” when Gareth Southgate told him that he would be captaining England against Belgium on Tuesday night.
Southgate told Rice on Sunday night that he would lead England out at Wembley, on the occasion of Rice winning his 50th international cap.
Rice revealed the details of that emotional conversation during his pre-match press conference at Tottenham Hotspur’s training ground on Monday afternoon.
“I was speechless to be honest, absolutely lost for words, when he said to me last night I was going to be captain,” Rice revealed.
“I gave him a hug, shook his hand, and said thanks very much. I owe him a lot. Since I first came into the team he’s always made me feel at home, I’ve always felt so comfortable playing under him. It’s an absolute honour, you can see it in my face.”
With Harry Kane out with an ankle injury, England were captained by Kyle Walker against Brazil on Saturday. But he limped off in the first half with a suspected hamstring injury, returning to Manchester City, while Harry Maguire also returned to his club after the 1-0 defeat. With Kieran Trippier also absent, that leaves England with none of their senior leaders for Tuesday’s game, which in part is why Southgate has turned to Rice.
“It’s a brilliant opportunity for some of our young players now to show leadership and to experience that, with some of our core group — Kane, Trippier, Walker, Maguire — not with us,” Southgate said. “So there is a different feel about the group, a different dynamic, that’s a great opportunity for other people to step up, to lead, to grow, that’s important. A lot of the players who are involved with the squad now are the future of the team as well for the mid and long-term, and the more of those experiences they can have, that’s really helpful for everybody.”
Rice will become the first Arsenal player to captain England since Sol Campbell against the United States in May 2005.
He only made his England debut in March 2019, at the age of 20, having previously won three senior caps for the Republic of Ireland. Southgate said that he had always seen leadership potential in him from that moment.
“First I had to convince him that it would be a good decision,” Southgate added of Rice’s evolution. “That’s been born out by the tournaments we’ve been in, the huge matches he’s played in.”
“You get a feel for a human being, and often their family play a big part in that. With Dec you could sense that stability, that maturity in the decision-making process that he’s going through. And of course he’s led from a very young age at West Ham as well. He’s already gained some good experiences and I’m pushing him in that aspect as well. Because it would be easy to take a little step back as we’ve got a lot of older players here, but some of our young ones have got great leadership already, they’re more than entitled to be bossing the older ones round a little bit as well, and being demanding of them and of us as a coaching staff, and driving the team, he’s got all those qualities and the respect of everybody to do that.”
Rice has been in impressive form throughout this season since he made the move from West Ham to Arsenal last summer.
The midfielder has become an integral part of Mikel Arteta’s side, who are challenging for the Premier League title. He has played 39 times across all competitions, scoring six and assisting seven.
(Catherine Ivill/Getty Images)
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