Qatar World Cup 2022: Declan Rice says England should be feared
England star Declan Rice said the Three Lions should be feared by other nations at the World Cup.
England are through to the last 16 in Qatar and will face Senegal on Sunday for a place in the quarter-finals.
Rice believes England’s “world-class talent” and the club trophies combined make England a formidable opposition.
“Other nations will look at our quality – and why should we not be feared?” said Rice.
“If you look at our attacking talent, we have world-class talent. Across the board we have players who have won the biggest trophies.
“It is up to us to prove that. The likes of France have done that. We’re not just here to get into the last 16, we want to go the whole way.”
England reached the 2018 World Cup semi-finals in Russia and the final of the Euros last year.
Southgate has a ‘selection headache’ but team is supportive
Gareth Southgate faces a “selection headache” for the Senegal fame with Bukayo Saka, Raheem Sterling, Marcus Rashford and Phil Foden competing for two starting places alongside Harry Kane in the attack.
But Rice says there’s nothing but positive support within the team for whoever gets called up.
“What is so good about our group here is we are all so supportive of each other,” the 23-year-old added.
“There is probably a selection headache for the manager but whoever he picks, I know everyone will be rooting for each other. It is a real team effort now.
“I think (the competition) is top level – it’s always nice to know you can bring players on that can instantly change the game.
“We’ve got world-class players that can do that. In a World Cup you need that.
“Competition is really healthy and I’d do anything to win the World Cup. So if that means someone comes on and helps, that’s all that matters. We all share the same goal.”
England back on form
Many England fans were sceptical of whether the team would make it out of the Group stages let alone top the group. The negativity arose from a winless run of six games and relegation from the Nations League.
And despite a goalless draw against the USA – a team they should have easily beat, England didn’t highlight too many concerns during the group stages.
Confidence and the right lineup seem to be key to England’s success.
Rice says confidence is high within the camp as England prepares for the high stakes of the knockout stage.
“Our mentality now is fantastic, we have players that have won trophies year in, year out – so they’ve brought that mentality and installed it to England,” he said.
“It’s about the manager too, the way he talks to us, he’s so calm. He emphasises we’re England, we’re just as big as anyone else and we can achieve anything. When you have a manager like that, anything is possible.
“The closest I’ve got to a big shock was beating Germany and I remember thinking that day in the dressing room, there was no way we were losing.
“You want that feeling, because that’s what takes you all the way.”
