Declan Rice says his England mum gave him a dressing-down after he and several teammates arrived sunburnt for World Cup promotional photos, with the winger later explaining how Tampa heat and storm delays are already shaping the squad’s adjustment in Florida.
Declan Rice had hardly settled into the World Cup build-up when the first telling-off arrived — not from a coach, but from his own mum.
The Arsenal and England midfielder had already seen the promotional shots taken “on the eve of the tournament in America,” where he was left “bright red” in the pictures. Rice laughed as he recalled it. “I was bright red in that photo shoot. My mum was killing me!”
He said the snap change from English weather caught him early. “Honestly. the first day we came. it was just getting used to that heat.” Coming from England. where conditions can swing between hot and cold. Rice described how quickly Tampa’s warmth can land. “Coming from England – where it’s hot-cold and all different types of weather – to here where it’s always 30 degrees…it really does hit you in the face.”.
Rice wasn’t alone. In England’s early days in Florida, Jordan Pickford and Elliot Anderson were also caught out in the same promotional photographs taken around the same period.
The real-world test didn’t take long to follow. After England beat Costa Rica in last night’s storm-delayed friendly in Florida. Rice admitted the weather has continued to be a factor at the squad’s training base in Tampa. The Costa Rica match itself was delayed by an hour after a tropical storm struck Orlando two hours before the planned 4pm kick-off.
For Rice, that stop-start disruption is exactly the sort of thing England have been preparing for. “Yeah definitely,” he said. He described how, once they arrived back at the hotel before the game, the conditions still looked normal. “We got into the rooms at the hotel before the game and it was bright sunshine.”.
Then, as the atmosphere shifted, the reality of tournament conditions hit. “You take a nap and you’re like: ‘What’s going on here?’”
Rice said the manager has been clear about what the squad may face. “The manager said that’s what we are going to face at this tournament because they had it at the Club World Cup last summer. where it’s stop-start.” Even within a match. Rice said. lightning and thunder can force a reset. “Even in a game. you could be playing 60-65 minutes and the next thing thunder and lightning strikes and you have to come off. So you have to adapt to everything and the manager has made us fully aware of that.”.
He added that the time difference this time — the delay versus the original schedule — was only an hour, which made it manageable. “It was only an hour’s difference this time so it wasn’t too much but it was good to get a taste of it.”
That adaptation comes at a moment when Rice’s season has left him balancing extremes, too. He has come off a long run that included Arsenal becoming new Premier League champions, but he also had to process the disappointment of defeat to PSG in the Champions League final ten days earlier.
For Rice, the hardest part hasn’t been his legs. “I think it’s been more mentally tough than physically.” He pointed to the emotional swings that come with chasing trophies. “Even though I have played so many games, the emotions you go through on a football pitch are ridiculous.”
He described the sequence in plain terms: winning the Premier League, then losing the final. “Trying to win the Premier League and obviously winning it, and then to lose the final. You’re up and down constantly, trying to adapt. And then full focus turns to the World Cup.”
He said the World Cup has only really started to feel real once England arrived in America. “It’s hard to think about the World Cup in season because you have so many big games but when you actually get here it’s when it starts to hit you.”
Rice also believes coming in with a “fresh mind” has helped. “So I’m happy I didn’t think about it too much ahead and obviously now I have come here with a fresh mind, ready to go.”
For now, his body feels ready. “I feel good as gold. I feel really fit, really strong.” Rice said he had “a couple of niggles throughout the season” which he managed with help from the physios and the manager. “So I’ve come here in a really good place.”
Confidence is the main word he keeps returning to. “I feel really confident. I think winning that Premier League means I have come here with a sense of confidence and a spring in my step.”
He added that Arsenal getting over the line has given him belief that the same standards can carry into the tournament. “Now I have got over that line with Arsenal it has given me that confidence that we can come here and achieve big things as well. I’m really in a good place at the moment.”
Declan Rice England World Cup 2026 Arsenal Costa Rica friendly storm delay Tampa heat sunburn Jordan Pickford Elliot Anderson Premier League champions PSG Champions League final
So his mom got mad… but the real villain is the sun I guess.
Wait, England went to Florida and got sunburnt for photos? That seems like a setup lol. Also storm delays in Orlando just like… move the schedule and then act surprised it’s hot?
My take is Tampa weather is fake tough. 30 degrees is nothing… unless you’re out there for like 12 minutes in full England mode. Still, “bright red” sounds like he didn’t wear sunscreen like at all.
Tropical storm struck Orlando and they still had the friendly? That’s wild. Rice saying his mum was “killing him” is funny but also like… couldn’t they predict the weather? I saw another thing online that said it was just clouds, so now I’m confused. Either way, I feel bad for the players in the heat, Florida will cook you even if you think you’re tough.