Rice: It's an honour to play with Kane

Declan Rice admits it's been an "honour" to play alongside Harry Kane for England after the striker made more history at the FIFA World Cup 2026.

The Three Lions captain was on the scoresheet twice in the opening 4-2 win against Croatia, equalling Gary Lineker's record of 10 World Cup goals in the process.

Kane's brace helped Thomas Tuchel's side get their campaign off to a perfect start and increased his international tally to an incredible 81 goals in 115 appearances.

Rice, who has played with Kane since making his debut in 2019, has spoken glowingly about the Bayern Munich striker and how he helps lead the squad in his role as skipper.

Speaking alongside head coach Thomas Tuchel at a press conference at Boston Stadium ahead of Tuesday's game with Ghana, Rice said: "For me he's one of those players you'll be telling the kids when you're older that you got to play with Harry Kane. That's how good he is.

"He's one of those players. I'm very fortunate [to play with him]. One, he's our captain, but two, how he leads by example every day, how he pushes in training.

"It's not a surprise to me how good he is, just because of the goals he scores in training, what he's been doing at Bayern Munich, what he's been doing in an England shirt.

"It’s been an honour to play with him, and for sure I'm very lucky that I get to play with a striker like him."

The Arsenal midfielder also admitted that the squad have taken extra confidence from their impressive second-half display against Croatia as they prepare to face Ghana on the east coast of the United States.

After being pegged back twice in the opening period in Dallas, goals from Jude Bellingham and Marcus Rashford after the break helped secure three points and pole position in Group L.

And Rice believes the squad now have a "benchmark" to aim for as they look to seal their progress to the first knockout stage with a positive result at Boston Stadium.

"We are just as motivated, if not more motivated to win," Rice added.

"Harry [Kane] spoke about it earlier that we haven't always had a great result in the second game so we have to get that right.

"If you look back on the second half [against Croatia], it was probably the best half of football we’ve played under Thomas.

"That performance was the benchmark now and if we keep playing like that then we will be a match for anyone and we should have confidence in our ability and believe we can beat anyone in this tournament."

On a personal level, Rice entered the World Cup on the back of a superb season at club level, having helped Arsenal win the Premier League for the first time in 22 years and reach the final of the UEFA Champions League.

"I think I come into this tournament with bundles of confidence," Rice said.

"I feel like I've come into England with a spring in my step. I think as we keep playing good opposition, you're going to keep seeing the best of me.

"This season has probably been more mentally draining than physically. But I'm in a mentally very good space and physically I feel very good as well."