Declan Rice named as England vice-captain by Tuchel for World Cup bid

Declan Rice has been named England’s vice-captain by Thomas Tuchel, who has played down the significance of Jude Bellingham wearing the armband during the second half of the 1-0 victory against New Zealand . Although Bellingham captained the side after coming off the bench in Saturday’s World Cup warm-up in Tampa, Tuchel said that was simply because the midfielder was the player on the pitch with the most ­international appearances. The head coach was clear that the situation would have been different if Rice, who is a key member of England’s leadership group, had been part of the matchday squad at the Raymond James Stadium. The midfielder, who was one of four Arsenal players given time off by Tuchel after the Champions League final, captained England when Harry Kane was unavailable against Wales last October . “I would say Declan is my vice-captain,” Tuchel said after being asked if anyone has been appointed to the role. “I was just thinking about it – whether it is an official thing or not. But I think we had this talk when Harry was not in camp with us. Was it against Wales? Did Harry miss a game against Wales? We started with Ollie [Watkins] and I think Declan was captain. That was where I told him.” England are using their time in Florida to acclimatise to the heat and the New Zealand game was essentially a training exercise. Tuchel played different XIs in each half , with Kane coming off after scoring the winner late in the first half. …