Midfielder Declan Rice says "this is the best England group for a very long time" after they secure a third-placed finish at the World Cup.

"This is the best England group for a very long time. That's a fact. No-one can take that away from us." England's thrilling 6-4 win against France secured the Three Lions a World Cup bronze medal - their best finish since they won the trophy in 1966 - and left Declan Rice adamant major tournament success is "close". Despite the criticism of Thomas Tuchel's tactics since their painful semi-final collapse against Argentina, stand-in captain Rice was quick to praise England's efforts at the tournament. He added: "I think we can be proud as a group - we are just gutted we lost in that semi-final. "We're tired of saying we're proud of coming in semi-finals and quarter-finals - we want to win with England ultimately. But to come third in this tournament is a real achievement. "We're so close, honestly. There's been so much talk about this group over the last few years going out of tournaments. There's been semi-final exits, quarter-finals, finals. "I think we need to keep going. I do think it's close. It's a game of small margins. It's football and the other night we lost on margins and in the boxes." But what will it take to move England to the top of the podium at a major tournament?