Rice is enthusiastic about England's strength at set pieces

Declan Rice believes fans should share his enthusiasm for England's set-piece strengths. England beat Croatia 4-2 in their opening World Cup game, with Harry Kane scoring twice and Jude Bellingham and Marcus Rashford also scoring. Kane's second goal came from a precise corner from Rice, which came straight onto the head of England captain Kane. England's expected goals (xG) from non-penalty set pieces were 1.03, leading all teams' stats on matchday one. Rice, who ranks fourth in Europe's top five leagues in the 2025-26 season with 48 chances from set pieces, is enthusiastic about the Three Lions' strength on dead balls. "Over time, I feel like every time I put the ball down for a set piece - be it a corner or a free kick - I assume I can provide an assist or create something dangerous," Rice explained. "It's a good attitude towards set pieces and something England fans can look forward to." Rice explained how his set-piece skills have improved during his time at Arsenal. "I never used to take corners or set pieces, but [set piece specialist] Nico [Jover] and the coach [Mikel Arteta] at Arsenal saw something in me that others didn't see. They said that I shot the ball from a stationary position in Ber

Oak can bring the ball to where no one else in the team at Arsenal, apart from Bukayo [Saka], can bring the ball. From that moment on I really believed in it and committed to it." England face Ghana in their second group game of Group L. A win would be enough to secure first place. In the opening round, only the Germans (12) had more shots on goal than England (11 against Croatia). England will be looking to win their first two games for the fourth time in World Cup history, having done so in 1982, 2006 and 2018.