Best England Team for a Long Time? That's a Fact, Says Rice

Declan Rice captained England to a thrilling 6-4 victory over France, securing a World Cup bronze medal and their best finish since winning the trophy in 1966. Rice declared the current England squad the best in a long time, asserting that major tournament success is "close."

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This is the best England group for a very long time. That's a fact. No-one can take that away from us.

Despite criticism of manager Thomas Tuchel's tactics following their semi-final defeat to Argentina, Rice praised the team's efforts. "We can be proud as a group – we are just gutted we lost in that semi-final," Rice said. "We want to win with England ultimately. But to come third in this tournament is a real achievement."

He added, "We're so close, honestly. There's been so much talk about this group over the last few years going out of tournaments. There's been semi-final exits, quarter-finals, finals. I think we need to keep going. I do think it's close. It's a game of small margins."

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I think we can be proud as a group - we are just gutted we lost in that semi-final. We're tired of saying we're proud of coming in semi-finals and quarter-finals - we want to win with England ultimately. But to come third in this tournament is a real achievement.

Assistant manager Anthony Barry shared his deep emotion, speaking with tears in his eyes during a half-time interview. "I can't find the words to describe how proud I am of these players. They're playing a game with broken hearts," Barry said. "I see 11 lads on the field with broken hearts. And they can build a performance like that through pride of playing for England."

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We're so close, honestly. There's been so much talk about this group over the last few years going out of tournaments. There's been semi-final exits, quarter-finals, finals. I think we need to keep going. I do think it's close. It's a game of small margins. It's football and the other night we lost on margins and in the boxes.

Barry highlighted the exceptional team spirit over the past seven weeks, acknowledging potential cynicism but emphasizing the team's performance against a world-class opponent. Manager Thomas Tuchel is expected to remain for Euro 2028, despite backlash over his tactical decisions in the semi-final.

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There's no frustration. I'm a little bit emotional. I can't find the words to describe how proud I am of these players. They're playing a game with broken hearts. I see 11 lads on the field with broken hearts. I've seen them in the hotel the last few days with broken hearts. And they can build a performance like that through pride of playing for England.