🫡 Rice makes his mark as England captain in rout over France

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Dylan Krain

18 July 2026

England have jumped out to a stunning 4-0 lead against

France

in their

World Cup

third-place match.

And with little at stake for either side, Thomas Tuchel chose to rest his captain and leading scorer Harry Kane, giving Arsenal's

Declan Rice

the armband for tonight's match. It's a decision that has certainly paid off.

Rice opened the scoring for

England

after just 2:14 played, firing a low, delicately-placed strike into the bottom-right corner.

It is England's earliest goal in a competitive fixture since Luke Shaw's opener in the EURO 2020 final vs Italy.

–

Saturday, 18 July 2026

It is also Rice's first-ever

goal, and his eighth for

However, the

Arsenal

man wasn't done as he swung an excellent corner onto the head of Ezri Konsa to double England's lead.

In the process, he became the first

player since David Beckham (2002) to record two assists from corners at the same

Coming off a title-winning season with the Gunners, Rice is only the second

player to start a major tournament game for

as captain, after Tony Adams at EURO 1996 (per Opta).

To make the night even better for

fans, Bukayo Saka was the next to score after a complete mess from the French defence. Maignan found himself off his line and in no man's land as Saka rolled home into an empty net.

The

winger completed his brace on the stroke of half-time, in what is turning into a complete demolition!

📸 Buda Mendes - 2026 Getty Images

Watch: Declan Rice fires England into the lead with stunning long-range strike

caughtoffside

Declan Rice withdrawn at half-time after illness in England’s World Cup win over Norway

OffsAIde

Watch: Bukayo Saka completes his brace as England lead 4-0 vs France

Saka starts for England vs France after sitting out semi-final

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