England manager Thomas Tuchel has announced Declan Rice as his vice captain for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

He announced this on Saturday, June 7, at England’s World Cup training camp in West Palm Beach, Florida (USA), confirming it also during his post‑match press conference after England’s 1‑0 warm‑up win over New Zealand in Tampa.

According to him, “I think I would say Declan is my vice-captain,” Tuchel told reporters after the victory.

The England boss then joked about whether Rice was even aware of the appointment.

“That is a good question. I was just thinking about it. Whether it is an official thing or not.”

Tuchel went on to explain that the decision was effectively communicated earlier in the year when Rice led the team in Kane’s absence.

“When Harry was not in camp with us, I think Declan was captain. That was where I told him.”

The announcement came as Rice and his Arsenal teammates Bukayo Saka, Noni Madueke and Eberechi Eze joined England’s training camp in Florida ahead of the tournament.

The Arsenal quartet touched down at the team’s base in West Palm Beach after the squad triumphed in their friendlies against New Zealand.

With preparations now shifting towards their final World Cup warm-up match against Costa Rica.

Rice has steadily emerged as one of the most influential figures in the England setup and previously captained the side during a friendly against Wales when regular skipper Harry Kane was unavailable.

Before Rice, the role had been held by Jordan Henderson under Gareth Southgate’s tenure. Henderson served as Harry Kane’s deputy for several years, especially during the Euro 2020 and World Cup 2022 cycles.

Kane remains England’s captain, but if the striker is unavailable at any stage during the tournament, Rice is now firmly established as the man expected to lead the Three Lions onto the pitch.

FIFA is introducing a new pre-match ceremony for the 2026 World Cup aimed at making the experience more exciting and engaging for fans. The ceremony will feature music from the official World Cup album and transform the entire stadium into part of the spectacle through a 360-degree presentation that can be enjoyed from every section of the venue.

Also, giant national flags and special on-pitch displays designed to bring supporters closer to the action will be included, and this, the global football governing body said, is aimed at strengthening the connection between players and fans before kick-off.

This will mark a shift from the traditional way of players lining up ahead of a kickoff on the field.

Under the redesigned pre-match ceremony system, players will walk onto the pitch alongside youth programme escorts through a special arch positioned near their team tunnel. The ceremony will also feature several visual displays, including a large banner at the centre circle, handheld national flags and prominent FIFA branding across the field.

In a notable change, all players named in the matchday squad, not just the starting eleven, will gather around the centre-circle banner during the national anthems. FIFA says this will allow every squad member to share in the pride and emotion of representing their country on football’s biggest stage.

“As the FIFA World Cup grows, we continue to innovate the way the game is experienced”, said FIFA President Gianni Infantino. Having all players and referees face each other in the centre circle during the national anthems will create a moment of unity, pride and emotion that truly belongs to the teams and to everyone in the stadium. The FIFA World Cup is about every player and every fan, and this new pre-match ceremony reflects that”, FIFA officially announced on Thursday, June 4, 2026, through a media release from its headquarters in Zurich, Switzerland, and simultaneous press briefings in Los Angeles, USA.

After the anthems, the traditional pre-match rituals, including the handshakes and team photos of the starting line-ups and then the captains will come up for the coin toss.

Later in the tournament, the pre-match ceremony will incorporate additional elements such as coloured smoke or pyrotechnics. Furthermore, the youth programme and players’ tunnel will feature both traditional and new integrations of FIFA’s Commercial Partners, thanks to the involvement of adidas, Coca-Cola, Kia, Mengniu, Qatar Airways and Quaker.

The FIFA World Cup scheduled for June-July 2026 is set to see approximately five to ten million people in attendance, as announced by the president of the football governing body, Gianni Infantino.

Speaking at a joint press briefing with U.S. President Donald Trump at the White House in Washington, D.C., on 17 November, he noted that the tournament is expected to attract millions of people across the three countries set to host the games next year.

“Millions of fans will be coming. One of the things I’ve observed in America is that the stadiums here are really built for people to have fun, to enjoy, to spend time. They don’t just watch the game and leave — they stay for hours, and I think that’s exactly what we need. We need occasions that bring people together from all over the world.”

The USA is giving priority access to fans, the White House has announced.

People from all over the World will travel to support their countries. Consequently, the White House has announced that fans set to travel for the tournament to the USA will be given the FIFA Prioritised Appointment Scheduling System (Pass), given that most of the matches will be played there.

The FIFA Prioritised Appointment Scheduling System (FIFA PASS) is a special visa‑interview scheduling program created by the U.S. government and FIFA for the 2026 World Cup. It gives ticket holders priority access to U.S. visa appointments, ensuring fans can travel to matches in North America despite existing visa backlogs.