[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"header-nav":3,"footer-nav":29,"article-declan-rice-arsenal-title-lessons-england-world-cup-dr-congo":82,"category-counts-nav":97,"related-declan-rice-arsenal-title-lessons-england-world-cup-dr-congo":107},[4,8,11,14,17,20,23,26],{"label":5,"to":6,"exact":7},"Home","\u002F",true,{"label":9,"to":10},"World Cup","\u002Fworldcup",{"label":12,"to":13},"Standings","\u002Fstandings",{"label":15,"to":16},"Football","\u002Fcategory\u002Ffootball",{"label":18,"to":19},"Basketball","\u002Fcategory\u002Fbasketball",{"label":21,"to":22},"Tennis","\u002Fcategory\u002Ftennis",{"label":24,"to":25},"F1","\u002Fcategory\u002Ff1",{"label":27,"to":28},"Long Reads","\u002Fcategory\u002Flong-reads",{"brand":30,"columns":32,"tagline":80,"copyright":81},{"description":31},"In-depth sports journalism covering football, basketball, tennis, F1, and beyond. Daily analysis, long reads, and expert opinion.",[33,51,59],{"heading":34,"links":35},"Leagues",[36,39,42,45,48],{"label":37,"to":38},"Premier League","\u002Ftag\u002Fpremier-league",{"label":40,"to":41},"La Liga","\u002Ftag\u002Fla-liga",{"label":43,"to":44},"NBA","\u002Ftag\u002Fnba",{"label":46,"to":47},"Formula 1","\u002Ftag\u002Fformula-1",{"label":49,"to":50},"Champions League","\u002Ftag\u002Fchampions-league",{"heading":52,"links":53},"Content",[54,56,57],{"label":55,"to":16},"Analysis",{"label":27,"to":28},{"label":58,"to":16},"Data & Stats",{"heading":60,"links":61},"Company",[62,65,68,71,74,77],{"label":63,"to":64},"Terms of Service","\u002Fservice",{"label":66,"to":67},"Privacy Policy","\u002Fprivacy",{"label":69,"to":70},"Editorial Policy","\u002Feditorial",{"label":72,"to":73},"Contact Us","\u002Fcontact",{"label":75,"to":76},"About Us","\u002Fabout",{"label":78,"to":79},"Website Disclaimer","\u002Fdisclaimer","Built for the love of sport","© SportPulse. All rights reserved.",{"title":83,"slug":84,"category":85,"badge":86,"author":87,"excerpt":88,"date":89,"readTime":90,"image":91,"imageAlt":83,"tags":92,"body":95,"_path":96},"Rice Draws on Title-Winning Resolve as England Eye DR Congo Test","declan-rice-arsenal-title-lessons-england-world-cup-dr-congo","football","Feature","Marcus Wright","Declan Rice says Arsenal's Premier League title chase forged the patience England now need against stubborn World Cup opponents.","2026-06-30 19:07:18","4 min read","https:\u002F\u002Fi.guim.co.uk\u002Fimg\u002Fmedia\u002Fa6f42c643a2adba1835dd9f2cd2ca1bea058965c\u002F1167_232_3924_3141\u002Fmaster\u002F3924.jpg?width=140&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=fddfc7751d6f166e561e4e7e8060aa99",[37,9,93,94],"Arsenal","England","## The Moment That Defined a Season\n\n**Declan Rice** remembers the exact second the doubt crept in. Arsenal had just lost at the **Etihad Stadium** in mid-April, the gap at the top of the Premier League razor-thin, **Manchester City** breathing down their necks with the momentum of a freight train. TV cameras found Rice on the pitch, shaking his head. Lip-readers across the country decoded the message instantly: \"It's not done.\"\n\nHe was right. **Arsenal won every remaining league match** after that defeat, grinding through tension that would have buckled lesser squads. City blinked. And for the first time since **2004**, Arsenal were champions of England.\n\n> \"It could have gone either way. That would have lived with me for ever.\"\n\nNow, standing on the precipice of a World Cup knockout tie against **DR Congo**, Rice is leaning on that exact experience. Not the celebration. The scar tissue.\n\n## Why DR Congo Won't Be a Walkover\n\nThe expanded **48-team format** at the 2026 World Cup has produced matchups few predicted, and England's round of **32** clash with DR Congo is one of them. The Leopards qualified through a competitive African pathway and arrived in **North America** with a defensive structure that has frustrated opponents throughout the group stage.\n\nThis is not a side that will come out and trade punches with England. DR Congo will sit deep, compress the space between the lines, and force **Gareth Southgate's** side to solve the puzzle in possession. It is a familiar dynamic for Rice, one he encountered repeatedly during Arsenal's title run.\n\n**Ten of Arsenal's final 12 league victories** came against sides that deployed a low block or deep defensive mid-block. Rice learned, match by match, that patience is not passivity. It is a weapon.\n\n## Arsenal's Title Run Taught Him Everything\n\nWhen Rice left **West Ham** for Arsenal in the summer of **2023** for a fee north of **£100 million**, the expectation was immediate impact. But the title never came that first season. Arsenal finished second, agonisingly close, watching City lift the trophy yet again.\n\nThe following campaign was different. Not because Arsenal were more explosive, but because they were more controlled. Rice operated as the midfield metronome, the player who dictated tempo when frustration threatened to override composure. His passing accuracy in the final **10 league matches** hovered around **92%**, and he averaged **7.3 ball recoveries per game** during the title run-in.\n\nThose numbers tell the story of a midfielder who refused to panic. Against sides that parked deep, Rice circulated the ball with purpose rather than desperation, waiting for the gaps to appear rather than forcing passes into dead ends.\n\nThat same discipline is precisely what England will need against DR Congo.\n\n## The Dressing Room After the Etihad\n\nArsenal's dressing room after that April defeat at City was, by all accounts, heavy with silence. Players sat at their stalls, processing the weight of a result that could have unravelled months of work. Rice, according to teammates, was the voice that cut through the quiet.\n\nHe did not deliver a Hollywood speech. He simply repeated what he had said on the pitch. **It's not done.** The simplicity of it landed harder than any tactical instruction. Arsenal's next match was a must-win, and they delivered, then won again, and again, until the math became irreversible.\n\nEngland's camp carries a similar tension now. Expectations are enormous. A round of **32** exit to DR Congo would be a national embarrassment, and every player in the squad knows it. Rice's role extends beyond his on-ball contributions. He is the emotional thermostat of this team.\n\n## Southgate's Tactical Puzzle\n\nSouthgate is expected to set up in his preferred **4-2-3-1** system, with Rice anchoring alongside a more progressive midfielder. The challenge will be width. DR Congo's compact shape will narrow the central corridors, demanding that England's fullbacks push high and their wingers stay wide to stretch the defensive block.\n\nRice's job will be to recycle possession quickly, switching the point of attack from flank to flank, and to snuff out any counter-attacks before they gain traction. It is unglamorous work. It is also the work that wins tournaments.\n\nArsenal's title was not won by moments of individual brilliance alone. It was won by **repeating the right patterns under suffocating pressure**, game after game, until the dam broke. That is the template Rice wants England to follow.\n\n## What It Means\n\nRice's message is clear: patience is England's sharpest weapon against a side that will not give them easy chances. His Arsenal experience is not a background detail in this story. **It is the story.** A player who stared down the collapse of a title dream and refused to flinch now carries that same mentality into a knockout round where the stakes are just as unforgiving.\n\nIf England break DR Congo down early, the floodgates could open. If they don't, every passing minute will test the nerves of a squad that has historically wilted in moments like these. Rice is betting that his title-winning scars make him the exception. **The 2026 World Cup** may hinge on whether his teammates believe it too.","\u002Farticles\u002Fdeclan-rice-arsenal-title-lessons-england-world-cup-dr-congo",[98,99,100,101,85,102,103,104,105,106],"analysis","basketball","cricket","f1","general","golf","mma","long-reads","tennis",[108,121,128],{"id":109,"stem":109,"path":110,"title":111,"category":85,"badge":55,"badgeType":112,"author":113,"authorRole":114,"authorInitials":115,"date":116,"readTime":117,"image":118,"imageAlt":111,"tags":119,"excerpt":120},"fai-ireland-israel-nations-league-motion-passed","\u002Farticles\u002Ffai-ireland-israel-nations-league-motion-passed","FAI Greenlights Israel Fixtures: Pragmatism Over Politics","category","Elena Rossi","SportPulse Contributor","ER","2026-07-10 02:35:46","7 min read","https:\u002F\u002Fichef.bbci.co.uk\u002Face\u002Fstandard\u002F976\u002Fcpsprodpb\u002Fa578\u002Flive\u002F10c275e0-7acd-11f1-a130-2b898c796aa9.jpg","Nations League, International Football, UEFA","Ireland's General Assembly endorses Nations League matches against Israel, prioritizing sporting integrity and competitive positioning over political pressure.",{"id":122,"stem":122,"path":123,"title":124,"category":85,"badge":55,"badgeType":112,"author":113,"authorRole":114,"authorInitials":115,"date":125,"readTime":117,"image":126,"imageAlt":124,"tags":9,"excerpt":127},"tactical-evolution-2026-world-cup-48-teams","\u002Farticles\u002Ftactical-evolution-2026-world-cup-48-teams","The 48-Team World Cup Forced Football Into Tactical Anarchy","2026-07-20 15:47:28","\u002Fimages\u002Farticles\u002Ftactical-evolution-2026-world-cup-48-teams.webp","Expanding to 48 teams didn't just reshape the World Cup's structure; it fundamentally rewrote the tactical calculus of international football.",{"id":129,"stem":129,"path":130,"title":131,"category":85,"badge":86,"badgeType":112,"author":87,"authorRole":114,"authorInitials":132,"date":133,"readTime":117,"image":134,"imageAlt":131,"tags":135,"excerpt":136},"keegan-career-retrospective-world-player-england-manager","\u002Farticles\u002Fkeegan-career-retrospective-world-player-england-manager","Keegan Reflects: Two World Player crowns, England, and I Would Love It","MW","2026-07-20 16:46:56","\u002Fimages\u002Farticles\u002Fkeegan-career-retrospective-world-player-england-manager.webp","Premier League, England, Bundesliga, European Football","Kevin Keegan revisits a remarkable career from back-to-back World Player titles to the iconic rant that defined a Premier League era."]