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Eze dismisses idea of changing spot-kick technique‘If there is a penalty to take I’ll be there again’Eberechi Eze says he will not let his missed penalty in the Champions League final stop him from stepping up in a shootout for England in the World Cup.The attacking midfielder sent his kick wide when Arsenal lost on penalties against Paris Saint-Germain in Budapest last month but he is determined not to let the disappointment define him and is confident in his technique. Eze, who also had softly-struck penalties saved for Crystal Palace in games against Liverpool and Newcastle last year, dismissed the idea that it is time to move away from his stuttering runup to the ball.“No, I think I have taken penalties for a long time and it’s part of the journey,” he said. “You have to continue to improve, find new ways to improve. I’m not going to stress too much about it because I know I’m in this position for a reason and all the training behind it.”Eze has a calm mentality and will not shy away from taking another penalty. “Football is full of everything and you have to try to accept everything as it is, to enjoy it as much as you can,” he said. “Playing in a Champions League final is where I want to be, it’s what I want to do.“We’ll go for it again next season and if there is a penalty to take then I’ll be there again. All the big players have missed big penalties, have experienced these type of moments. I’ve had messages from everyone to speak on those moments. For me it’s not something I wish never happened. I’m grateful it happened. I’m going to grow from it, learn from it and move forward.”There is no doubt that Eze would take a penalty for England in a knockout tie. “If called upon, for sure,” he said. “Why wouldn’t I take it?”England worked on improving their relationship with penalties during the Gareth Southgate era. They won a World Cup shootout for the first time when they knocked out Colombia in the last 16 in 2018 and they converted five nerveless kicks when they defeated Switzerland in their Euro 2024 quarter-final.However, Southgate’s hopes of helping England win silverware for the first time since 1966 were dashed when they lost the Euro 2020 final to Italy on penalties. The backlash on social media was extreme and Eze has looked at how Marcus Rashford and Bukayo Saka handled the experience of failing to score against Italy. Both forwards are in England’s squad in the US and Saka exorcised his demons by scoring in the shootout against Switzerland two years ago.“Honestly before even speaking to them, you can see the way big players carry themselves,” Eze said. “You step up, you do what you need to do. If you miss, you miss. If you score, you score. It’s having the mentality to keep going. That’s part of the journey.”The miss against PSG aside, not much has gone wrong for Eze during the past two years. He scored the winner for Palace when they beat Manchester City in the 2025 FA Cup final and he helped Arsenal win the Premier League after joining Mikel Arteta’s side last summer.“It’s important for a player’s confidence to have that under your belt, to experience winning,” Eze said. “It gives you a different level of confidence and a lot of players [in the squad] experiencing that is only going to help us here.”Eze is competing with Jude Bellingham and Morgan Rogers for the No 10 role. He is likely to be on the bench when England face Croatia in their opening match in Group L but he is ready to play anywhere across the frontline. “I think that’s the type of player I am, it’s not just one position I can play,” he said. “Wherever I’m called upon is where I will play. I’ll try to express myself and enjoy myself.”

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Forget the Olympic and the rest. People across the planet remember where they were for their biggest World Cup matchesThe connection between King Lear and the 1966 World Cup is little known, mainly because it affected very few people at a now defunct boarding school. I had been a surprise selection to act in the school’s production of Lear (yes, I played the Fool; yes, I was typecast). The day before one of the performances I fell and twisted something and was a doubtful starter for a part that required a lot of dashing about.Matron prescribed sleeping pills. That night England were playing Mexico in that now-sanctified tournament – almost a must-win after a goalless start against Uruguay. I went to bed early, tucked my transistor under the pillow to hear the commentary, went spark out and only heard the result next morning: England 2 Mexico 0. The rest is national history.Also, the invalid recovered enough to get a rave review in the Wallingford Herald and embarked on the dream of theatrical stardom which, sadly, had to wait for another 30 years before I made the big time as a Teletubby in the village panto.The point of the above burble is that the World Cup, more than any other sporting event, is not just global but personal. It invades the English summer like nothing else. Brides with weddings planned for ages suddenly find themselves competing with must-see matches. Pubs empty if they don’t have screens. Wimbledon grumpily finds itself playing second fiddle. Ditto Test matches.People across the planet remember where they were for their own biggest matches and who was with them. Olympics, forget it. Unless it’s held down the road, it never takes over like The Big One.And surely every English teenager of that time remembers where they were on the Great Day: the Soviet linesman; Kenneth Wolstenholme: “It is now”; Bobby Moore’s smile. All in black and white. Imprinted in our memories like JFK’s murder and the moon landing. Even now, when we can’t remember where we put our specs, phone or car keys.We might by now have a more nuanced view of that epic. The ineptitude of allowing the trophy to be stolen, which was followed by Joe Mears, the chair of the Football Association, trying to claim the reward for himself rather than the owner of Pickles, the dog who found it.But my schoolboy innocence disappeared only when I read the work of the football writer Jonathan Wilson: Argentina and Brazil being given training grounds with no goalposts; the foreign press treated as muck; South Americans being picked on by European referees; Pelé being kicked (literally) out of the tournament. The voyage to Port Stanley had some of its roots at Wembley.Ah, well. My family was never that football-crazy. But somehow the World Cup infiltrates itself everywhere. In 1970, my brother, Richard, arranged his wedding in a London hotel on the day England played Brazil in Guadalajara: the match when Gordon Banks made that save from Pelé. Barring fire alarms, no wedding party has ever dispersed so quickly. The bride and groom went upstairs to their room, but instead of the customary post-nuptial activity he insisted on watching the match. It still rankles a bit with my sister‑in-law. But they did have their 56th anniversary this week.England skipped the next two World Cups, after Brian Clough described the Poland goalkeeper, Jan Tomaszewski, on TV as “a clown” at half-time in the crucial qualifying match for 1974. For clown, read genius. Next morning the Sun headline read “THE END OF THE WORLD”.There followed the fatalistic years when English football – dull, grubby, violent fans – found itself challenged as the nation’s leading sport. When, in 1986, England had a sniff of success they were thwarted by Maradona and the Hand of God. By 1990, with three football tragedies fresh in the memory – the Bradford fire, the Heysel riot and the Hillsborough horror – with Mrs Thatcher trying to make it illegal to attend football without permission – England’s national game was at its nadir. Bobby Robson, the England manager, was being vilified in the pubs and the press in a manner that make Keir Starmer’s travails look like mere flesh wounds.As in King Lear, I think I played something of a role here. The Guardian sent me to the World Cup in Italy, but gave me a break to cover Wimbledon, which suited me (and saved them money).England were at first corralled on Sardinia to curtail the movement of their unwelcome supporters – Saint Helena might have been better. From the start, the journalists on the spot were talking about 1990 being the most boring World Cup of all. But stealthily England were worming their way through the ranks.By the time they beat Belgium to reach the quarter-finals the nation was pricking up its ears. The next match was against the surprise package, Cameroon. I was due to fly back for the semis and final, but that night was watching quietly at home in north London. At half-time I put my dustbin out. A normally busy street was deserted, not a sound; everyone was watching.Gary Lineker won the game with a penalty. Afterwards, our genteel local was in raptures. When I flew to Milan for the fateful semi in Turin, I was greeted by the verdict formed by my colleagues: “Terrible, terrible tournament”. I had to tell them: “You don’t understand. Back home everyone’s crazy about it.” Modern communications had not yet permeated Fleet Street. Those on the spot hadn’t a clue.England lost the Gazza’s-tears match and the final – Argentina beating Germany – was indeed complete shite. But that was the real turning point, of (later Sir) Bobby’s reputation and football regaining its status as the unchallenged national preoccupation.Beware you June and July brides; your big occasion might not be as big as you think.

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England’s squad arrived at Swope Soccer Village, their World Cup base, to find locals (and the local police) out in forceBefore Thomas Tuchel and his England players departed for the United States, there was talk about their World Cup training ground in Kansas City being too open. It was motivated, in part, by the Southampton Spygate scandal. Would England’s rivals be able to steal a glance at them? Tuchel even said that the Football Association would look to erect protective fences.The nine-pitch facility at Swope Soccer Village is certainly sprawling but here’s the thing. Nobody is getting on site without going past the armed police officers at the entrance. There was a throwaway line from a steward on Saturday as England trained on the complex’s showpiece pitch after flying in from Florida after their pre-tournament camp. “You guys see spying,” he said. “We see personal security.” The latter rather overrides the former. It was safe to say that they have it covered.The buildup to England’s arrival was further coloured by the theft of some of their kit in transit from Florida, including boots and footballs. Again, it did not feel like much of issue. Everything was recovered; two arrests have been made. “My boots?” said the goalkeeper, Dean Henderson. “I’ve got them on my feet so it’s all good. We got them all back so it’s nice.”There did not seem to be much to fret about as the players went through a light session that lasted about an hour – if training under blue skies and a blazing sun that pushed the mercury to 29C can be described as light. The second chapter of England’s summer adventure has started and if the focus is about to narrow and the intensity pick up, then the excitement has gone up a few notches, too.The opening tie against Croatia in Dallas on Wednesday is edging closer and the good news is that England look to have what they need at Swope and, indeed, their hotel – the four-star, 54-room Inn at Meadowbrook, which is a 20-minute drive away.England always wanted to stay in Kansas City because of its location in the centre of the US and how it would mitigate their travel distances to matches; the plan is to fly in and out for each assignment, the FA having been clear about the benefits of a fixed base, a home.England were denied the first pick of Kansas City’s training bases and even the second one because they were not drawn to play any of their group phase games here. Argentina and the Netherlands were and the former bagged the best facility – Sporting Kansas City’s performance centre. The latter went for the training ground of the women’s team, the KC Current, which is newer than Swope, perhaps a little slicker-looking. As an aside, a fourth nation – Algeria, who have matches in Kansas City – have ended up at the University of Kansas facility.But Swope, which is home to Sporting KC’s second team and their academy sides, ticked the boxes for Tuchel and the FA. It was particularly reassuring to see the quality of the pitch they used on Saturday – in light of scare stories about that aspect of things. England will rely on a different grass surface which is around the back of the main building but the reality is that it is of the same standard. And the standard is high. Local media described all three grass pitches at Swope – the other six are astroturf – as among the best in the state. They are absolutely comparable to those that Argentina and the Netherlands will use.The FA has put a new gym in at Swope and created a lounge for the players and they are happy, too, with the intimate Inn at Meadowbrook, which they have taken over exclusively. There are a number of permanent residents that live on condos close to the site and their access to areas like the principal restaurant will be restricted while England stay there. To say thank you, Tuchel’s players will have a meet and greet with them.The training session at Swope was open to a number of local children, who were specially invited and thrilled to be there. Harry Kane felt a lot of love. “Harry, you’re better than Bellingham,” screamed one over-excited youngster. There were banks of media at one end of the pitch.What stood out for England was the warmth of the welcome. The locals were out in force with flags and signs as they drove up to the hotel – a massive police escort having helped them there from the airport. As the players walked in, they heard music from the Kansas City Chief’s band and saw the NFL team’s cheerleaders. Even the mascot, KC Wolf, was there.Kansas City was not supposed to be a host venue for matches but they got the invitation from Fifa after Chicago said no. They are overwhelmingly delighted to have been asked. It is a city of jazz music heritage, the birthplace of Charlie Parker. It is a city of fountains, with over 200 of them, some spectacular. There are 220 parks and 29 lakes. It is a city of barbecued meats, smoked ribs and burnt ends among the specialities. It is a city of charm and friendliness, which has a love affair with the heart symbol, partly because it is in the heart of the US. “We like to say that we greet people with a smile and a wink,” said one local.Most urgently, perhaps, it is a city of sporting passion, headlined by the Chiefs, who have won three of the last seven Super Bowls. Also their baseball team, the Kansas City Royals. Football is big, too, thanks to Sporting KC and the Current, whose CPKC Stadium was the first in the world to be purpose-built exclusively for a professional women’s sports team.The World Cup Fan Fest, which has been designed by the global architects’ firm Populous and holds 25,000, was rocking on Friday night as the US thrashed Paraguay in their opening World Cup tie. Fans enter it through a 65ft high heart. England intend to thrive off the positive vibes.

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Rejected by Chelsea, honed by West Ham and a league winner at Arsenal, the midfielder has plenty from his footballing journey wishing him well at the World CupThree years ago Declan Rice was the star guest at a Soho House event about the power of effective leadership. Tickets were in hot demand and Rice, who was due to play a European semi-final for West Ham two days later, could not understand why so many people were interested in what he had to say.The audience was packed with marketing directors and CEOs, all eager to hear the England midfielder speak. To Rice, though, it just seemed weird. Why him? What made him so special? The answer lay in his everyman appeal. It was because of his ability to form connections with everyone he comes across. It was because Rice, who goes into the World Cup fresh from winning the Premier League with Arsenal, would be a leader in any setting. More than anything, it was because England’s new vice-captain is authentic, genuine and always ready to charm, no matter if the 27-year-old is speaking to a room of high-powered executives or heading back to his old school to spend an afternoon with a group of awestruck kids.Perhaps this world-class footballer’s superpower is to be both normal and extraordinary. “He’s hardly changed,” Stephen Willmore, Rice’s old PE teacher, says. The stories are positive no matter who tells them. A seven-year-old Rice was part of Chelsea’s academy when he started at Grey Court school in Ham, south-west London. There was no arrogance, though. Rice still captained the school football team. Harry Kane is not going anywhere any time soon but the expectation is that Rice will take over from England’s captain one day.“He never missed a game for us,” Willmore says. “If we had to change the kick-off times he would always want to play for the school and then go to training with Chelsea afterwards. He was a leader already. Even though he was so young he was hugely respected for the fact that he always wanted to play for the school team.“He didn’t hold back. He would play for us and go straight off to training, but he would give his all within that time with us. He was charismatic. He had a great personality. We’d go on away journeys in the minibus and he would be the central figure. He was just a really nice young man who’s carried on in that way. I still see that Declan you see now.”Rice does not use a traditional agent. He leans heavily on his two older brothers, his father and a handful of close friends. Rice has never lost touch with his roots and is still in touch with his old schoolmates. He was a good student and loved his sport. He liked tennis and cross country running. On the football pitch, he was a driving force from midfield. He passed well and dominated. At Chelsea, though, standards were high. Rice, who comes from a family of Chelsea fans, faced dejection when released from his boyhood club at the age of 14.“That shock of my dad telling me, I just burst into tears,” Rice said in 2019. He had to be resilient. Rice had an immediate offer to join West Ham. The east London club had tracked him since he was nine and could not believe their luck when Chelsea let the youngster go.Academy staff had never seen a better trialist at West Ham. Rice had gone through a growth spurt and his physique needed attention, but offering him a deal was the right call. Staff trusted him. Rice was the type of person who would tell the coaches if another boy was struggling emotionally.That speaks volumes for his character given that joining West Ham meant Rice had to cross London and leave the family home in Kingston. He comes from a tightknit family and had to get over his homesickness. “His mum and dad were always really supportive,” Willmore says. “He had really nice parents.”The path was never straightforward. There were times when West Ham’s youth coaches were divided over whether to keep Rice. But his development continued, he was handed his first-team debut by Slaven Bilic in May 2017 and he caught the eye of senior players when he joined training.Mark Noble, West Ham’s former captain, remembers Rice stepping out of defence to “hit a diagonal ball out to the left wing with a lovely bit of fade on it”. Noble suspected Rice would take his place in midfield one day. Rice was a teenager but his attitude set him apart.“We played Rubin Kazan in pre-season,” Aaron Cresswell, the former West Ham left-back, says of a July 2016 friendly. “Dec gives the ball away and the lad went on and scored. But his reaction just told me what he was like. It wasn’t like his head was down and he didn’t want the ball. It was: ‘Fine, give me the ball, I’m going to show you what I’ve got.’ I thought: ‘Gosh, he’s going to be some player.’”Cresswell talks fondly of a “cocky little kid” who could hold his own in the first-team dressing room. “He could speak to anyone. And when the going gets tough, he’s first to put his chest out and carry the team. In the latter part of his West Ham career he certainly pulled us through games, whether it was making that last-ditch tackle or dragging a team up the pitch.”Leadership came naturally to Rice. He was not afraid to lay into older players. He even spoke his mind to West Ham’s then manager, David Moyes. “If he felt something needed to be said, he’d say it,” Cresswell says. “He was brilliant in and around the place. Everyone loved him.”A key part of Rice’s character is his ability to stay professional while not taking life too seriously. There is a story about him winding up Joe Hart when the former England goalkeeper was on loan at West Ham during the 2017-18 season.“He did a shooting session with Joe,” Cresswell says. “Dec put it in the top corner. Joe came out and he tried to chip him. Dec said: ‘You won’t get that, son’ and Joe lost his head. He wanted to kill him. He chased him all around the training ground. I think he actually filled him in when he got hold of him. But Dec’s heart was in the right place. It was never crossing that line into arrogance. You need that little bit of character.”Rice soon moved out of central defence and into midfield. He was always destined for the top but his focus never dipped when he was about to leave West Ham. He drove them to the Conference League title in June 2023 and soon became the most expensive British player ever, joining Arsenal for £105m.Bayern Munich and the Manchester clubs were interested but Mikel Arteta wooed Rice with his footballing vision. Arteta said Rice could be Arsenal’s lighthouse – someone to guide and improve those around him. At Arsenal, though, Rice has become more than a facilitator. He was more defensive at West Ham but has become a No 8 under Arteta. With England he has more freedom thanks to the emergence of the metronomic Elliot Anderson. Rice’s increased attacking threat was evident when he made a box-crashing run during England’s 3-0 win in their friendly against Costa Rica on Wednesday, arriving late to open the scoring by converting a low cross from Anthony Gordon.“I don’t think a lot of people appreciate actually the ability he’s got with the ball,” Cresswell says. “You’re seeing it a lot more at Arsenal side. No disrespect to the West Ham team we had, but his game was kind of different. I remember getting slated a bit for this. I remember saying: ‘If he’s around better players he’ll naturally become a better player.’ He’s one of the best in the world in that position.”Cresswell talks about Rice’s set-piece deliveries, which were crucial to Arsenal winning the league, and his two spectacular free-kicks against Real Madrid in the 2024-25 Champions League quarter-finals. “That was the first time he’d scored a free-kick in his career,” Cresswell says. “I was thinking: impossible. I watched him take free-kicks all the time at West Ham. His ball strike … I was astonished.”The Madrid game felt like Rice announcing himself as a global superstar. He has 10 commercial partners and works with one charity. The interest in him is vast and varied. Rice has his serious face on when he works with fashion and beauty brands such as Burberry and L’Oréal; he can let loose when he did the “Rice, Rice baby” advert for Müller Rice.He can lift the mood by playing the joker and maintain standards by behaving as the consummate professional. He has an eclectic music taste and a deal with JBL headphones. He listens to Gunna and Lil Baby but also likes house music and Harry Styles. Golf is another passion. When Arsenal won the league, Rice was out celebrating until the early hours. There were clips on social media of him taking selfies with supporters on the street. Then, after a few hours’ sleep, it was off to play golf. “It’s how he relaxes,” a friend says. He plays off a handicap of six.The day job is demanding, after all. Rice has had near misses with England, losing the Euro 2020 and 2024 finals. He was involved in two of Arsenal’s three consecutive second-place finishes before they finally finished first. There were times when Rice wondered whether the big prizes would come. Friends told him it was better to be slow and steady; that consistency was always the aim and the wait would be worth it.Perhaps that was why the cameras caught Rice saying: “It’s not done” when Arsenal lost to Manchester City in the league in April. His faith in Arteta and his teammates would be vindicated. “He sometimes doesn’t need to have the armband,” Arteta said. “When he talks people listen.”Cresswell laughs at people on social media who reckon that Rice turns it on for the cameras. “I was at the Arsenal game a couple of weeks ago at West Ham and he’s still the same kid now,” he says. “I’ve got a little eight-year-old boy. Dec came in, gave him a shirt and signed it for him and took pictures with him. He’s never forgotten West Ham or the lads who’ve helped him develop. He’s got all the time in the world for everyone.”These days Rice has flowing locks and does lifestyle interviews about his hair care routine. Cresswell laughs when he thinks back to Rice’s teenage look. “He had a skinhead,” he says. “He looked like a little scally. But we’ve all been a little bit wet behind the ears. He’s a fully grown man now.”Rice, who is in line to win his 74th cap when England face Croatia in Group L on Wednesday, is a family man and a father. The boyish, playful streak persists, though. England have been gearing up for the World Cup by training in stifling conditions in Florida and Rice has laughed at pictures of his bright red face, saying he got a telling off from his mum for not using suncream.It is a disarming way for one of England’s most important players to talk. Rice, who switched allegiance from the Republic of Ireland in 2019, can do self-deprecating. He has that rare combination of being able to clown around without making his managers doubt his dedication.It is not a surprise that Thomas Tuchel has entrusted Rice with the responsibility of being Kane’s deputy. England will rely heavily on Rice’s drive and leadership this summer. The aim, as the head coach keeps saying, is to put a second star on the shirt. There will be plenty more talks on leadership if Rice gets his hands on the World Cup.

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Equipment stolen during transportation from FloridaFA will liaise with police in bid to retrieve match bootsEngland have been the victims of a security breakdown after the team’s match boots were stolen before their first World Cup training session in Kansas City.The theft is understood to have taken place while equipment was being transported from the squad’s pre-tournament base in Florida to their training camp at Swope Soccer Village in Missouri. Boots belonging to England’s star players were understood to be among the stolen items, along with official tournament balls and training equipment.Thomas Tuchel’s side will train at their base for the first time on Saturday afternoon. The Football Association declined to comment when approached by the Guardian. It will have to liaise with local police as they attempt to retrieve the equipment.England face Croatia in their opening Group L game in Dallas on Wednesday. The FA has meticulous plans in place as Tuchel attempts to lead the men’s side to their first piece of silverware since 1966, but the incident presents staff with a headache.There were positive vibes during England’s acclimatisation camp in the heat of West Palm Beach, Florida. England won friendlies against New Zealand in Tampa and Costa Rica in Orlando.The performance in the latter was hugely encouraging and featured an eye-catching display from Jude Bellingham, who has boosted his chances of starting over Morgan Rogers at No 10 against Croatia. Bukayo Saka is in a race to prove his fitness after struggling with an achilles problem while Ezri Konsa and John Stones could keep Marc Guéhi out in central defence.