Declan Rice feels fans should share his excitement at England’s set-piece proficiency.
England beat Croatia 4-2 in their World Cup opener, with Harry Kane netting twice before Jude Bellingham and Marcus Rashford scored in Dallas.
Kane’s second goal came from a pinpoint Rice corner, with the Arsenal man delivering an outswinger straight onto the head of England’s captain.
England’s non-penalty set-piece expected goals (xG) of 1.03 topped the charts for any team across matchday one, and Rice, who ranked fourth in Europe’s top five leagues for chances created from set-pieces in 2025-26 (48), is thrilled at the Three Lions’ dead-ball strength.
“As time has gone on I feel like now every time I put down a ball for a set-piece – whether it’s a corner or a wide free-kick – I feel like I’m going to get an assist or make something happen that’s dangerous,” Rice
“That’s a good mentality to have over set-pieces and England fans can be excited.”
Pushing towards matchday
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Rice explained how his set-piece prowess has improved during his time at Arsenal.
“I wouldn’t ever take corners or set pieces, but [set-piece coach] Nico [Jover] and the manager [Mikel Arteta] at Arsenal saw something in me that others didn’t.
“They said that I can put balls in areas from a dead ball that no-one else can in the team at Arsenal other than Bukayo [Saka]. From that moment, I really just bought into that, believed in that.”
England take on Ghana in their second Group L game, with victory enough to see them clinch top spot.
Across the opening round of fixtures, only Germany (12) had more shots on target than England (11 v Croatia).
England will be looking to win each of their opening two games at a World Cup for the fourth time, after completing the feat in 1982, 2006 and 2018.
