Top News

Declan Rice has lauded Harry Kane as 'ridiculous' and a 'proper leader' after the England captain’s crucial double turned a potential World Cup disaster into a 2-1 victory over DR Congo. The Three Lions midfielder admitted he was in awe of Kane’s finishing quality as Thomas Tuchel’s side pulled off a dramatic comeback to secure a spot in the round of 16.

Speaking to BBC Sport after the final whistle, Rice expressed deep admiration for his skipper. England had been staring at a shock group-stage exit before their talisman stepped up, first heading in Anthony Gordon’s precise cross and later firing an unstoppable strike from the edge of the box after Gordon recycled Jude Bellingham’s saved attempt.

“He’s just ridiculous. Seventy-two goals this season, I think — that’s simply unreal. Ridiculous numbers,” Rice said. “He’s a proper leader, a captain who trains hard every day and gets along with everyone. When you’ve got someone who can change a game like that… that second goal, he just reverse-whipped it into the top corner — incredible. What a player. We’re really lucky to have him.”

Kane’s brace against DR Congo took his tally in the tournament to five goals, placing him joint-second in the Golden Boot race alongside Erling Haaland, just behind Kylian Mbappe and Lionel Messi. His late heroics kept England’s World Cup hopes alive and set up a round-of-16 encounter with Mexico.

According to Opta, the England captain’s goals further solidified his legendary status on the international stage. Kane is now one of only two players in football history to score 20 or more goals across the World Cup and European Championship, joining Cristiano Ronaldo (24). His clutch performances are unmatched, with 10 knockout-stage goals in major tournaments since Euro 2020 — well ahead of Mbappe’s seven and more than triple the tally of Dani Olmo, Kasper Dolberg, and Gonçalo Ramos, who each have three.

England faced an early scare when Brian Cipenga gave DR Congo a seventh-minute lead, beating Jordan Pickford at the near post. The Three Lions struggled initially to find rhythm against an energetic African side, but Rice insisted they never lost belief. The victory marked only the second time in history — and the first since the 1966 final against Germany — that England won a World Cup match after conceding first.

“Honestly, I’m just trying to settle myself down,” Rice admitted. “It was a really tough, high-intensity game. To come out on top in the end, I’m buzzing. Even when we went 1-0 down, I stayed calm. There have been shocks already in this tournament, but I knew we had enough quality. We created chances, they cleared a few off the line, I thought we had a penalty that wasn’t given — so we just kept pushing. Keep making runs, keep crossing to the back post, keep finding space — if you do that long enough, something will come. Harry stepped up again and scored two.”

In the final minutes, Rice was seen taking up an unusual role at right-back — a tactical adjustment to counter DR Congo’s pace on the wings. Though more accustomed to midfield duties, he stepped in to help England see out the result.

“That was probably the hardest 12 minutes of the game — playing right-back,” Rice said. “It felt like a basketball match at times, back and forth, and we had to slow it down because they’ve got really quick wingers. We made it harder than we needed to. I’ve played there two or three times this season, so I know the role. It’s not my biggest strength, but I’ll always do whatever the team and manager need. With 12 minutes left, I said I’d give it my best — and I think I did alright. Hopefully, I won’t have to play right-back again next game.”