Rice hails England's World Cup bronze as squad's best in years

England finished third at the 2026 World Cup after a 6-4 win over France in a frantic bronze-medal play-off at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida, and Declan Rice used the result to make his strongest case yet for this squad. “This is the best England group for a very long time,” Rice said after a match that had England 4-0 up at half-time before France fought back.

Bukayo Saka scored twice, with Rice and Ezri Konsa adding England’s other goals. Kylian Mbappe scored two for France and Bradley Barcola added another, turning the second half into a test of nerve after England had controlled the opening period. Rice also said there is “no feeling that comes near putting on an England shirt at a World Cup” and that the team will “keep dreaming.”

The selection itself underlined how far England’s depth has come. Rice and Saka both started the third-place match, while Harry Kane was left on the bench, and Mbappe also started for France. Rice had spent part of the tournament managing an injury issue before England’s last-16 tie against Mexico, when he was dealing with a neural problem affecting his hamstring and lower back, yet he still made the decisive stages and scored in the play-off.

The bronze-medal finish gives England another deep run to set beside the strongest men’s teams of the last two decades. Gareth Southgate’s side reached the Euro 2020 final and the 2018 World Cup semi-finals, but too often England’s tournament stories have ended earlier with the sense that promise outran the record. This squad has now produced multiple statement results in the same campaign, from the Mexico win that Rice later called his “best away day in an England shirt” to the four-goal cushion against France in Miami.

The reaction around the camp has matched the results. After England beat Mexico, Alan Shearer said the team had shown why they could be champions and later added, “I’ve changed my mind, we might actually be able to win this thing.” Rice’s own message to supporters, published by the England Football Association on 17 July, captured the mood around the group, but the proof came in the same place it always does for England: on the pitch, under pressure, with the scoreline still live.