Lewis Jones' England World Cup Notebook: Declan Rice's set-piece brilliance creates a betting angle

England's 12-minute blitz showed what Tuchel's football can be

England's 4-2 demolition of Croatia was as dominant a performance the Three Lions have ever produced at a World Cup. Whisper it quietly, they had the look of genuine tournament winners. At the conclusion of the first round of group games England are 13/27.50 third favourites.

The numbers were eye-catching. England fired off 22 shots and played with a level of attacking intent that has often been missing from previous tournament teams. But it was the 12-minute spell immediately after half-time that really caught the eye.

England were electric, creating nine shots in that barnstorming spell after the break.

Wave after wave of attacks crashed into Croatia, who simply couldn't cope with the intensity, movement and quality pouring through the middle of the pitch.

The midfield trio of Jude Bellingham, Elliott Anderson and Declan Rice completely took over.

Bellingham was his usual force of nature, Anderson played with a maturity and authority beyond his years, while Rice quietly produced one of the most important performances on the pitch.

And it's that that last point where I think bettors should be paying close attention.

When are England's Group L Games?

See below for the dates and times of Englands matches in the group stage of the tournament:

Rice emerging as England's chance creation king

England generated 0.85 expected goals from set-piece situations alone, with Rice's quality of delivery causing Croatia problems from virtually every dead-ball opportunity.

Betfair's new "Shots Created" market is one of the most interesting additions for football punters at this World Cup.

For those unfamiliar, shots created is essentially another way of measuring chances created or key passes - a pass that directly leads to a shot.

Rice is shaping up as a player whose numbers in this market could be consistently underestimated.

He averaged 1.9 chances created per game for Arsenal last season, largely driven by his outstanding delivery from dead-ball situations. That trend was already showing up in Tuchel's England before the tournament, where Rice led the squad for chances created at 2.55 per game.

The market offered Rice at 10/111.91 to register two or more shots created against Croatia.

He absolutely smashed that line.

Rice finished with six chances created in total. He personally created four before being substituted, while his replacement Morgan Rogers added another two to the overall tally from Rice's role with the help of the super sub concession. The Arsenal midfielder also chipped in with an assist, delivering the corner that Harry Kane powered home.

That makes his shots created lines one of the standout betting angles to monitor as this tournament progresses.

Rice's influence on dead-ball situations looks particularly significant. His chances-created numbers are already elite by England standards under Tuchel and, if Betfair continue to pitch his shots created lines around the two-mark, there will be value to exploit in the next game with Ghana.

Notable winners on Betting.Betfair so far at the 2026 World Cup...

- Mark Stinchcombe's stunning 38/139.00 Bet Builder in South Korea v Czechia
- Paul Higham's 9/25.50 Bet Builder in Mexico's MD1 defeat of South Africa
- Paul also tipped 13/53.60 (Canada v Bosnia) & 15/82.88 (Brazil v Morocco) draws
- A 6/17.00 winning ACCA for Mark on Sunday at the World Cup
- Andy Robson's 9/110.00 five-leg ACCA as Germany wallop Curacao
- Another 13/53.60 winner for Paul as France beat Senegal with both teams scoring

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