NEW YORK, June 11 (Xinhua) -- England midfielder Declan Rice admitted he was in trouble after helping his side to a 3-0 win over Costa Rica in a World Cup preparation match on Wednesday, but said the criticism came not from coach Thomas Tuchel but from his mother.
England vice-captain Rice played around an hour and scored the opening goal as his side impressed in Orlando, but the pre-game photographs made clear that the Arsenal midfielder had seen slightly too much of the powerful Florida sunshine, with the player looking sunburnt.
"I think everyone has seen those photos, I was bright red in that photo shoot and my mum was killing me!," he admitted to the press after the match.
Rice said it had been difficult to adapt to temperatures of more than 30 degrees Celsius and the high humidity of Florida, especially as he spends most of his time in London.
"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," he said.
Rice and his Arsenal teammates Bukayo Saka and Noni Madueke joined the squad late after playing in the Champions League final, and he admitted he had suffered in the first training session.
"But the next two days after that felt really good and tonight, playing 60 minutes, was all I was ever going to play but I was in a really good space, I could probably have played longer so I'm really happy," he said.
England face Croatia on June 17 in their opening group match, and Rice said he feels as "good as gold. I Feel really fit and really strong," adding that winning the Premier League with Arsenal had also given him a boost.
"I have come here with a sense of confidence and a spring in my step. 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," he said. ■
