Gareth Southgate, the head coach of England, has officially announced the new captain for the Three Lions in their upcoming friendly match against Belgium at Wembley on Tuesday evening.
With Harry Kane out due to an ankle injury, Kyle Walker, the right-back from Manchester City who is already the captain of his club, took on the armband during Saturday’s game against Brazil. Unfortunately, Walker suffered a hamstring injury in the first half of the match and had to be substituted after just 19 minutes.
The armband was then passed on to Harry Maguire, the former captain of Manchester United. However, both Maguire and another defender had to withdraw from the squad on Sunday. As a result, Southgate announced in the pre-game press conference on Monday that Declan Rice, the Arsenal midfielder and former West Ham United captain, would lead the team against Belgium.
Southgate also mentioned that Cole Palmer and Jordan Henderson are likely to be available for the match, although Henderson may not play the full 90 minutes. Additionally, Southgate stated that Ivan Toney from Brentford would have a role to play on Tuesday, following Ollie Watkins’ appearance as a forward against Brazil, but the starting centre-forward was not disclosed.