Bellingham faces fight for England starting spot as Rice named vice-captain

Bellingham's starting spot not guaranteed

Thomas Tuchel has made it clear: Jude Bellingham has a fight on his hands to nail down an England starting place (1). The competition for spots is heating up under the Florida sun as Tuchel fine-tunes his squad. He wants round pegs in round holes, and that means no one is safe.

Rice named vice-captain

Declan Rice will be England's vice-captain at the World Cup, a decision that cements his leadership role alongside Harry Kane (3). The Arsenal midfielder has become undroppable for club and country.

Rashford vs Gordon on the left

Tuchel is relishing the direct battle between Marcus Rashford and Anthony Gordon for the left-sided attacking role (5). Gordon, fresh off a surprise deadline-day switch from Newcastle to Barcelona, revealed there was never any doubt once the Catalan club came calling (7). Rashford, meanwhile, faces a June 15 deadline on his own Barcelona buy option (8).

England beat New Zealand 1–0 in warm-up

A Harry Kane goal was enough to see off New Zealand 1–0 in Saturday's friendly (4) (7). Not a classic, but Tuchel's side got the job done. It's the first proper look at England in tournament mode.

Kane dismisses heat concerns

Harry Kane says the Florida heat is not a factor as England prepare for the World Cup (6). The captain insists the squad's conditioning work has them ready for whatever the tournament climate throws at them.

Croatia win warm-up ahead of England clash

England's group rivals Croatia beat Slovenia 2–1 in their own friendly, with Luka Modric still pulling the strings (9). That one will matter soon enough.

Fan-reaktioner

England fans are largely positive about Rice getting the vice-captaincy, with many seeing it as a natural step for the Arsenal man. A separate thread about a shooting near England's Kansas City base has drawn concern, though the incident is not football-related. Read the reactions