Declan Rice will have plenty of players – past and present – running through his thoughts when he leads England out as captain for the first time on Tuesday night.
As well as reaching a half-century of caps, Rice will also wear the armband at Wembley in what is England’s final friendly before manager Gareth Southgate names his squad for Euro 2024.
While he has never captained his country, Rice was West Ham skipper as they won the Europa Conference League last season – his final game before a club-record £105million move to Arsenal followed.
He has established himself as one of the best players in the Premier League this season as the Gunners push for the Premier League title and prepare for a Champions League quarter-final against Bayern Munich.
Rice, 25, follows in the footsteps of England’s World Cup winning captain Bobby Moore – who was at West Ham at the time of the 1966 success – and also pointed to the influence of his former Hammers skipper Mark Noble and current Arsenal leader Martin Odegaard.
“I’ve just got to think about everyone along the way who helped me,” he said. “I’ve had one of the best captains in Mark Noble. He’s already text me and I think he’ll be coming to the game tomorrow night.
“People like that, I’ve learned so much from both as a player and person, captain and leader.
“Then when I come to England, seeing players like Harry Kane and Jordan Henderson and how they are around the group. You pick up little things from everyone. And when I got to captain West Ham, I was growing in confidence and as a leader.
“I still see myself going that way. There is Martin Odegaard at my club. I’m not thinking about it, but if anything were to ever happen to him, I really would love to put the armband on for Arsenal.
“I love leading and being captain. It’s a real honour.”
Asked about the links to Moore, Rice added: “Having 10 years at West Ham has shaped me into the person I am today, no doubt.
“It’s a real honour you know. There’s only been a certain amount of people that have captained England. It’s a one-off game, but to be able to put the armband on, it will be really special.”
Rice admitted giving the pre-match team talk would be the part of the evening he looked forward to the least.
“That’s the worst bit! Harry always speaks, then the other night it was (Kyle) Walker,” he added.
“(Kieran) Trippier before – when he was captain – did a funny speech and messed it up and everyone started laughing so I know there is going to be a bit of pressure on me.
“But I’ll keep it short and sweet before the game…make sure everyone’s on it and make sure everyone knows what’s at stake tomorrow night.
“We obviously lost the other night to Brazil at Wembley but now it’s another chance to go out and win a game of football and you don’t ever want to lose two games in a row, especially as England.
“So it’s going to be a big night, so it’s just about relaying that message. We have to start fast and we have to win the game.”
While Rice will no doubt have his full attention on captaining England, Arsenal travel to Manchester City on Sunday in a game which could go a long way to deciding the destination of the Premier League title.
Rice may be fully aware of the gravity of the Easter Day clash – but it does not seem to have resonated with England team-mate and City defender John Stones.
“The first day I came I saw John Stones and he didn’t even know they were playing us next,” he revealed.
“When he’s away from football he likes to be with his family and switch off and I get that, he likes to take one game at a time.
“I said ‘big game next’ and John said ‘who are you playing’? I said ‘we’ve got you lot’! He said ‘oh yeah’. That tells you how much we speak about it when we’re here.
“With Walks (Kyle Walker) he always has a little bit of banter, he’s a great lad. As lads, we have a bit if banter but inside us we know what a big game it’s going to be, a potential title-decider, it’s going to be really tight.”
Journeyman Joselu takes long, winding road to Champions League final
Real Madrid striker Joselu was in dreamland after he came on in the dying moments of their Champions League semi-final against Bayern Munich on Wednesday and turned the game on its head with two goals to snatch a stunning victory.
Joselu, whose journeyman career has included spells at clubs such as Hoffenheim, Eintracht Frankfurt, Hannover 96, Stoke City and Newcastle United, only touched the ball a few times in their 2-1 second-leg win, but it was a night he is likely to remember for a long time.
He pounced on a rare mistake by Bayern keeper Manuel Neuer, stabbing the ball into the net to equalise for Madrid in the 88th minute, and just under three minutes later, he volleyed them into the lead from a cross by Antonio Rudiger.
"I don't know anything about being a hero, but I'm very happy... You can imagine," he said. "It was incredible, something spectacular. This team never gives up, it's in its blood to fight to the end and that's what we've done.
"You always dream of this kind of performance, but not even my most beautiful dreams are as big as what happened today."
On loan from second-division side Espanyol, Joselu's journey to becoming the semi-final hero has been long and winding in a career involving a dozen clubs across Europe.
He began his career at Celta Vigo before being bought in 2009 by Madrid, where he excelled in their B team but rarely made it to the first team.
He was sold to Bundesliga side Hoffenheim in 2012 and then loaned to Eintracht Frankfurt before joining Hannover 96 in 2014.
In 2015, he moved to Premier League side Stoke City, playing 27 times and scoring four goals, before spending two seasons at Newcastle United. He returned to Spain with Alaves, where he scored 36 times in three seasons.
He signed as a free agent with Espanyol in the summer of 2022, and a year later was loaned to Madrid and has scored nine goals in 32 appearances this season in LaLiga.
Joselu, born in Stuttgart, Germany, made his debut for Spain aged 33, coming off the bench against Norway to score twice in two minutes in March 2023.
"I don’t think Joselu will be sleeping much tonight, he’ll be useless in training tomorrow!" team-mate Jude Bellingham said. "He deserves it all, he’s been an amazing member of the squad all season, and it’s his night."
Tuchel: Champions League semi-final defeat 'tough to accept'
Thomas Tuchel reflects on "tough to accept" defeat after Real Madrid came from behind to win 2-1 and knock Bayern Munich out of the Champions League on Wednesday.
After a 2-2 draw in the first leg of the semi-final at the Allianz Arena, Bayern took the lead in the 68th minute through Alphonso Davies.
However, Joselu came off the bench to score twice in three minutes to send the LaLiga champions to the Champions League final with a 4-3 aggregate win over Bayern.
"It hurts. It’ll take a while to recover, but on the one hand, it’s a loss where we left it all out on the pitch,” Tuchel told DAZN after the game.
"Of course, it’s tough to accept. It’s part of reality. No regrets. But on the other, there were too many injuries, a few too many substitutions, too many cramps.
"We started with a front four and by the end they were all off the pitch. And then Manu, who had been exceptional in saving us all night, made a mistake he wouldn’t make in another 100 years."
In stoppage time, Matthijs de Ligt had the ball in the back of the net, but the referee had already blown his whistle after the linesman raised his flag, so VAR could not intervene.
The replays showed that the original decision was closer than first thought, and Tuchel was frustrated with how the situation was handled.
Speaking to TNT Sports, Tuchel said: "We are almost through, it's almost there and there was a very unusual mistake from our best player for the equaliser, then we conceded the second one in stoppage time.
"Then we scored one and there was a disastrous decision from the linesman and the referee. It feels like a betrayal in the end. There was a huge fight, we left everything on the pitch, and we were almost there. Now we say congratulations to Real Madrid.
"The linesman says sorry, but that does not help. To raise the flag in a moment like this... The referee sees we get the second ball, and we get the shot - it's a very, very bad decision. It's against the rules. It's a disaster. It's hard to swallow, but that's the way it is."
Manuel Neuer made five saves in the game and looked equal to Madrid’s threat until he spilled the ball in the build-up to Joselu’s first goal.
"Anyone who’s ever played football knows how I’m feeling right now," he told DAZN.
"That we’ve been knocked out in the closing stages, having led 1-0 until the 88th minute, it’s extremely bitter.
"We’d taken one step to London; we saw ourselves in the final, and now I’m lost for words."
Super-sub Joselu strikes again as comeback kings Madrid pounce
Joselu was the hero for Real Madrid as he scored twice off the bench to send them through to the Champions League final.
The Spaniard’s late brace secured Madrid’s comeback after Alphonso Davies had given the German side the lead, securing a 2-1 victory on the night, and a 4-3 win on aggregate to set up a meeting with Borussia Dortmund on June 1.
With only 10 minutes plus stoppage time to make an impact, Joselu made his time on the pitch count.
He scored with both his shots, becoming the oldest substitute to score a brace in a knockout game in the Champions League.
The forward is Madrid’s highest scorer in the competition this season with five goals, netting three of those after coming off the bench.
It is also the second time he has scored a double against a German team in the Champions League this campaign, getting his other against Union Berlin in the group stages.
Bayern were left to rue a late lapse in concentration that saw them concede twice in the space of two minutes and 44 seconds.
After Davies, who has been heavily linked with Los Blancos, became the first Canadian player to score in the knockout stages of the Champions League, with what was his maiden goal in the competition, it was a mistake that led to Madrid's equaliser.
It is the first time since April 2021 against Paris Saint-Germain that Manuel Neuer made an error leading to an opposition goal in the competition.
Bayern have now lost 11 Champions League matches against Madrid, the most one side has lost against another in the competition’s history.
It was always going to be a tough game for Thomas Tuchel’s side even after taking the lead – Madrid have won four matches despite conceding first in the Champions League this season, the most by a side in a single campaign since they won the trophy in 2016-17 (five).
Los Blancos have reached an 18th final in the European Cup/Champions League, but this is the first time they will play the showcase game at Wembley or in England altogether.
Meanwhile, Carlo Ancelotti has reached his sixth Champions League final, two more than any other coach in the history of the competition.
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
