England midfielder Declan Rice believes the current Three Lions squad is the strongest the country has produced in years after their 6-4 victory over France secured third place at the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
The bronze-medal finish represents England’s best performance at the tournament since lifting the World Cup in 1966 and comes despite their painful semi-final defeat to defending champions Argentina.
Rice backs England’s progress
Speaking after the victory, Rice praised the quality of the squad and insisted England are edging closer to ending their long wait for major international silverware.
“This is the best England group for a very long time. That’s a fact. No-one can take that away from us.”
The midfielder acknowledged the disappointment of missing out on the final but said the team had every reason to be proud of its performances.
“I think we can be proud as a group – we are just gutted we lost in that semi-final.”
“We’re tired of saying we’re proud of coming in semi-finals and quarter-finals – we want to win with England ultimately. But to come third in this tournament is a real achievement.”
Rice added that England’s recent record shows they are consistently competing at the highest level.
“We’re so close, honestly. There’s been so much talk about this group over the last few years going out of tournaments. There’s been semi-final exits, quarter-finals, finals.”
“I think we need to keep going. I do think it’s close. It’s a game of small margins. It’s football and the other night we lost on margins and in the boxes.”
