IN RICE'S OPINION, ALL OTHER NATIONS SHOULD FEAR ENGLAND AT THE WORLD CUP

IN RICE'S OPINION, ALL OTHER NATIONS SHOULD FEAR ENGLAND AT THE WORLD CUP

By Rashmi Goel

According to Three Lions midfielder Declan Rice, England has a strong enough squad to win the World Cup. After defeating Iran 6-2 and Wales 3-0 either side of a goalless draw with the United States, Gareth Southgate's side finished top of Group B with seven points. This is England's first victory since 2006 en route to the last 16, where Senegal awaits on Sunday as the runners-up in Group A. Rice believes England's calm progress is an indication that the team is serious after shock defeats already suffered by France, Argentina, Belgium, and Germany in the group phase. According to him, a number of shocks have taken place during this tournament, and I did not witness France's defeat to Tunisia last night. I saw the results, however, and there have been a number of surprises in this tournament. It is important to note, however, that we should not take anything for granted. There is a very good chance that this is one of the reasons why we are not receiving the credit we deserve. As much as we would have liked to win any of our three games, it still could have been a banana skin for us, but now we are not facing any pressures.

As you play better teams, your level goes up. These are the games you want to be a part of and be remembered for a lifetime. We are prepared for those types of games. Other nations will always look at us and the quality we have in our squad. There are world-class, unbelievable talents across the board among our attacking players. England hasn't won the World Cup since 1966, and Rice admits that partly explains why his team is not as eager to go all the way in Qatar as others. The team has a number of players who have won trophies of the highest caliber. It is up to us to demonstrate that we are among the top teams on the field," he commented.

It is true that teams such as France have won World Cups and done so consistently over the years. We intend to change that. "All those big nations, we intend to show that we are here. Our goal is not only to reach the quarterfinals but to advance to the final." It has never been the case for England to score more than nine goals in a group stage at a major tournament. As one of seven players to start every England match in Qatar, Rice was also a regular at Euro 2020, where they lost to Italy on penalties. It is his hope to exploit the feeling of goodwill created last year to propel England to an even greater accomplishment this year. We were not able to see anyone back then, whether it be friends or family, as it was clearly COVID." he explained. "Despite that, we were able to see videos of fans back home, which brought all the fans together, as we were watching their videos. As it is getting closer to Christmas, hopefully, we will be able to be able to give them the best Christmas present that we can provide.