World Cup 2026: I’m Ready, I’m Fit, Raring To Go, Rice Speaks Ahead Of England vs Ghana

Declan Rice insists he is ready to put his “body on the line” and bring his A-Game to the World Cup.

Rice admitted the schedule has been “crazy” and he has played an “obscene” amount of games for club and country after his appearance in England’s Group opener against Croatia was his 63rd of the season.

The Arsenal midfielder had to be substituted in Dallas and he admitted he has been nursing a lower back issue since Christmas which must raise concerns about his fitness levels for this tournament.

Rice is not the only one because his Arsenal team-mate Bukayo Saka is also managing his fitness because of a lingering Achilles problem which just goes to show the demands on players.

But Rice is adamant that he is fit, ready to play and wants to start every game, including the next group match with Ghana in Boston on Tuesday. Rice told ITV (Mirror): “You get on with it. Obviously, it’s an obscene amount of games.

“The schedule is crazy but what can we do about it? You can’t sit and complain. We have to just get on with it for the moments like I had in the Premier League winning that Premier League.

“You know you’d play as many games as possible to have that feeling again. And knowing there’s a World Cup at the end of it as well. You know you’d put your body on the line to be here always and to play. It’s a lot of games, but we’ll get our break at the end.

Also Read: World Cup 2026: Troost-Ekong Backs Ghana To Earn Point Against England

“It’s obviously still on me on the day to go out there and perform. And that’s the thing with football, you go into a game, you always hope that the best version of you can turn up. But it’s like, you’re a bit like a tennis player or a golfer sometimes.

“Sometimes you have your game, sometimes you don’t have your game. You’re constantly trying to find your best levels and I’ve managed to do that for a lot of periods of this season. And obviously, I want to bring that into the World Cup.”

Rice was substituted after 72 minutes against Croatia, they will need to be cautious on the back issue which obviously could affect his mobility and his hamstrings. But Rice is a player who really wants to play and hates sitting still. Even after Arsenal clinched the title and Rice and a few others went out partying… the next day, with little sleep, he hit the golf course.

Rice said: “Obviously been blessed and fortunate enough to have played in as many games as I can so far in my career - an insane amount of games for my age. I just love playing football. I love being durable.

“I love having that rhythm of playing three games a week at club. I wouldn’t like playing once a week, having to wait until another week until the next matchday. I like to keep the momentum going, and I’ve always been like that throughout my career, so it’s just come natural to me.

“I’m ready, I’m fit, raring to go. I think it was a smart decision to come off. I was feeling a little bit of neural pain in my hamstring, which I was managing from after Christmas with Arsenal for a very long time.”