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England captain Declan Rice got the Three Lions off to a fiery start against France at the 2026 World Cup with a goal and an assist in less than 18 minutes.
The Arsenal midfielder took just three minutes to open the scoring against the French side, capitalizing on his country’s strong start, before returning in the 18th minute to produce a perfect cross which team-mate Ezri Konsah converted for the second goal, making Rice the biggest contributor to England’s early lead.
Rice’s achievements didn’t stop with two goals in the match as he became the first active player in the English Premier League to score and set up the same for England in the current World Cup campaign, with Premier League players missing goals from England’s trip to France.
The England captain also entered the history books from another portal after becoming only the second Arsenal player to start a game in a major tournament for England, wearing the captaincy, whether at the World Cup or European Nations Cup, after legend Tony Adams, who led the Three Lions to Euro 1996.
Rice’s early goal was no ordinary goal either, as he scored the fastest goal for England in an official game since Luke Shaw’s goal after less than two minutes in the Euro 2020 final against Italy, marking one of England’s fastest starts at a major tournament.
