u/TheTelegraph

Scott Parker writes for The Telegraph:

Four words come to mind when I think about England’s hopes of winning the World Cup: we need Declan Rice.

There has been some debate since England beat Panama over whether Declan should have extra recovery, potentially sitting out the last-32 contest with the Democratic Republic of Congo. The concern for his wellbeing, given he is managing a hamstring issue, is understandable.

But Declan is pivotal. If England are going to go deep in this tournament, he is one of Thomas Tuchel’s foundation pillars – a manager’s dream. Whatever you ask him to do, he will do it. He is a “builder” when he plays as a No 6, in that he gets attacks moving.

He can play the No 8 role as well as anyone and has arrived at this tournament on the back of a season in which he was one of the Premier League’s Players of the Year. He is a physical specimen with great strength and his ability to run with the ball is underappreciated.

Full story: https://www.telegraph.co.uk/football/2026/06/30/scott-parker-england-not-win-world-cup-without-declan-rice/