Declan Rice Urges England to Replicate Arsenal’s Premier League Title-Winning Mentality at 2026 World Cup

Declan Rice believes the mindset that propelled Arsenal to the 2025/26 Premier League title — their first in 22 years — can serve as a blueprint for England’s 2026 FIFA World Cup campaign. The midfielder, who was central to the Gunners’ domestic triumph, says he has identified the same determination within the England squad as the tournament progresses.

England have not won a major international trophy since lifting the World Cup on home soil in 1966, a wait approaching six decades. That drought has continued despite two consecutive UEFA European Championship final appearances in recent years, both of which ended in defeat — a recurring heartbreak that Rice says has only sharpened the squad’s hunger.

“We’ve had two Euros final losses,” Rice said. “We’ve got that fire in us to know we want to go one step further, and we believe we can.”

The Arsenal midfielder identified a shift in the club’s internal culture as the decisive factor behind their league title, drawing a direct parallel to what he believes England must replicate on the international stage. “I think it’s just about not getting distracted, focusing on the job,” he said. “I think that’s what we’ve done at Arsenal this year. There’s a hunger to win more, for sure.”

Rice elaborated on the change in approach that defined Arsenal’s title-winning season, pointing to an improved ability to manage external pressure. “We obviously had a couple of close calls in the last few years finishing second, but this year, I noticed a difference in terms of blocking out the outside noise,” he explained. “We focused on what we know we’re good at, internally working really hard to achieve what we’ve done.”

England made a positive start to their World Cup campaign with a win against Croatia, and Rice expressed confidence that the foundations are in place for a deep run in the tournament. “We’ve obviously done that [at Arsenal]. And here, with England, I feel like we’ve got that fire in us to know we want to go one step further, and we believe we can,” he added.

Arsenal’s 2025/26 Premier League title ended one of English football’s most discussed trophy droughts at club level, with the north London side having last won the league in the 2003/04 Invincibles season. Rice joined Arsenal from West Ham United in the summer of 2023 in a deal that made him one of the most expensive British transfers in history, and his influence in midfield has been widely credited as a key component of the club’s resurgence under Mikel Arteta.

For England, the 2026 World Cup — co-hosted by the United States, Canada, and Mexico — represents another opportunity to end a wait that has defined generations of supporters. With Rice now drawing on a Premier League winner’s medal and a clear sense of what collective discipline can achieve, his message to teammates is straightforward: replicate the process, and the result will follow.