Declan Rice says England are confident they can beat Spain in their UEFA Nations League A Group 6 away match, despite the world champions’ 43-game unbeaten streak.
Spain’s Lamine Yamal is expected to return to the starting line-up, but Rice warned England cannot allow their preparations to revolve around the Barcelona forward.
“Playing against one of the best players in the world like Lamine Yamal is always special,” said Rice. “But they have another 10 players who are world champions, play for top clubs and have won countless honours. Focusing only on Yamal would be a huge mistake.”
Rice, who was named GQ’s inaugural Man of the Year this week, also highlighted Spain’s ability to threaten late in matches. They have scored four goals from the 75th minute onwards in the Nations League.
“That shows their attacking prowess and talent,” he said. “You need to be firing on all cylinders for 90 minutes. You cannot be distracted for a moment and have to be mentally ready at all times.”
Rice recalled last month’s meeting as an end-to-end contest with numerous chances and expects a similarly open game. He said England’s attacking improvement would be tested against Spain’s quality in the final stages.
Asked whether Spain could be regarded as the best international team in history, Rice said that remained open to debate but acknowledged their “resilient mentality of continuous progress and constant winning”.
“Tomorrow night we will see what level England are at when facing the world champions,” he added. “We are ready.”
England were disappointed by their World Cup semi-final defeat, but Rice believes the team have made progress, particularly against defensive opponents. He said the side had been questioned over whether it could break down low blocks, but had shown greater attacking threat and scored more goals in last month’s match.
The message from manager Mikel Arteta, Rice said, has been for England to attack at full speed and allow their forwards the freedom they enjoy at club level.
“With in-form players like Kane, Gordon, Bellingham and Morgan Rogers, you only need one night for the attack to fully explode,” said Rice. “Tomorrow night could be one of those nights.”
Rice said the Ballon d’Or trophy had recently been displayed in the England dining room, describing it as “really special” to see. He added that Harry Kane, who has 126 England appearances, is the team’s all-time leading scorer and a Ballon d’Or winner, rarely discusses the achievement himself.
“He is an incredibly humble person,” Rice said. “We are playing alongside a true legend of the sport, and we cannot take these moments for granted.”
Rice also credited Arteta and Arsenal team-mates Mikel Merino, Martin Zubimendi and goalkeeper David Raya with influencing his understanding of Spanish football. He said Arteta encourages players to control the ball, think and run forward, and dictate the tempo rather than rushing passes.
“We absolutely believe we can beat Spain tomorrow night,” Rice said. “In the first leg last month, we could have beaten them, but some silly mistakes cost us the game.”
He described the fixture as a meeting between two of the world’s best teams, while also naming France, the Netherlands and Germany among the sides competing at that level. England, he said, must turn the quality on paper into a performance and a victory.
