England legend Stuart Pearce has backed England to thrive at the World Cup and has urged them to continue indulging in the dark arts that propelled Arsenal to Premier League title-winning success.
The Three Lions' major tournament record improved dramatically under the management of Gareth Southgate, who helped England reach a World Cup semi-final and two European Championship finals. England were unable, however, to take the final step under Southgate, who stepped down following defeat to Spain in Berlin. The Football Association took the controversial decision to appoint a foreigner as Southgate's successor in the shape of German Thomas Tuchel.
Recent results and performances have done little to suggest England can expect to end their long wait for a trophy this summer, but Pearce is encouraged by aspects of what he has seen in recent months.
He told the Daily Mail: 'We certainly are a cuter team now. It was like one-size-fits-all in my day. It was a physical encounter, we played the way England did and if someone goes down cheaply, you're shouting at them to get up. That era has gone. We've become a lot more streetwise in English football, and in some ways that's a shame. We watch players going down cheaply in the Premier League and it doesn't sit well with the crowd. You can hear the complaining. We have to take the good things about English football, like the tempo, but also incorporate one or two bits that will make us very effective on the international stage. We are doing a lot of things right.'
If England are to make the final leap, they will need at least one of their leading lights to stake a claim for the Golden Ball. Pearce earmarked Arsenal's Declan Rice as a player capable of challenging for that award, even if he feels he could be taking on even more responsibility as an England player.
He added: 'The top players are nice to a certain degree but on the pitch they have a steely determination to get where they want to go. I've been in dressing rooms after he's made mistakes and he's reacted very positively. With Dec, you think he could win a game on his own, because of his physical prowess, his ability on the ball, and you're thinking: “Maybe [he could do] a little bit more.” I probably thought the same, back in the day at West Ham, but you don't say that about many players. I was renowned for taking free-kicks and I saw Dec score two wonder free-kicks against Real Madrid (in April 2025). I've barely seen him take one since. Like Dec, I could score from free-kicks and if I were him I'd be saying to my team-mates “Get out of my way. I'm taking this and I'm taking all of them, unless you can do better than me.”'
