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England midfielder Declan Rice has spoken about the adjustment required to playing in high temperatures in North America at the World Cup.
On Wednesday, Rice played 63 minutes of England’s 3-0 victory over Costa Rica in a World Cup warm-up match. The game was played in Orlando, Florida at Inter&Co Stadium, the home of MLS side Orlando City.
Rice joined the England camp on Sunday after he and his Arsenal team-mates Bukayo Saka, Noni Madueke and Eberechi Eze were given extra time off following the Champions League final on May 30. All four players missed England’s friendly against New Zealand on Sunday, though they featured against Costa Rica, with Rice scoring the opener in the ninth minute. Temperatures during the game exceeded 30 degrees celsius (86°F).
After the game, the 27-year-old was asked about the heat in Orlando and addressed images of him where he is visibly sunburnt.
“When the sun burn comes!” he said when asked about knowing when you have done too much in the heat. “I think everyone has seen those photos, I was bright red in that photo shoot. My mum was killing me!
Rice was sunburnt in his England photoshoot (Richard Pelham/Getty Images)
“Honestly, the first day we came, it was just getting used to that heat. Coming from England where it’s hot-cold, all different types of weather, coming here and it’s always 30 degrees — it really does hit you in the face.”
England’s game against Costa Rica was scheduled to kick off at 9 p.m. BST (4 p.m. ET) but was delayed by an hour due to heavy rain and thunderstorms in the area.
“We got into the rooms at the hotel and it was bright sunshine, you take a nap and you’re like ‘what’s going on here?’” Rice said. “The manager said that’s what you’re going to face at this tournament because they had it at the Club World Cup, where it’s stop-start. 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. It was only an hour’s difference today so it wasn’t too much but it was good to get a taste of it, potentially for what’s to come and how to deal with it, and we’re adapting to everything.”
All three of England’s group stage games will be played in the U.S., with Thomas Tuchel’s side opening their World Cup campaign against Croatia on Wednesday in Arlington Texas before taking on Ghana in Foxborough, Massachusetts on June 23. They then play Panama at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey on June 27.
