Since switching his allegiances from the Republic of Ireland to England, Declan Rice has quickly become a key man for Gareth Southgate in the heart of the Three Lions midfield. Rice has featured in 16 of the 22 internationals he has been eligible for and has started every key England clash since his first call-up. The West Ham vice-captain has been handed the number four shirt for this summer’s European Championships and will likely be a certain starter when England get their campaign underway against Croatia on Sunday, June 13. Southgate has revealed his admiration for the leadership role Rice plays with the Hammers at such a young age.
Gareth Southgate said: “He’s captain of West Ham at 21. This season has been incredible for them, the year before last, not so good,” the England manager told the High Performance Podcast. He was out there, out the front at 20, 21 years old and I’m thinking ‘where’s some of the other players?’ But what I said to him was, ‘Look, these are brilliant experiences for you. I like the fact that you’re standing, you feel the responsibility. You’re not ducking after a bad performance, you’re not looking to push the blame elsewhere. If anything, you’ve actually taken a bit too much on your shoulders. So keep a balance on that. But I think reinforcing that, that’s a good thing hopefully encourages him to keep doing it. So it’s easy to pick up when people aren’t doing those things, isn’t it? But if you can find them doing it well, I think that’s equally if not more powerful.”
Rice has started nine of England’s last 11 competitive internationals and will be hoping to take his fine Hammers form to the international stage in his first major tournament. Twenty Premier League appearances as West Ham captain this season is bound to stand Rice in good stead as he prepares for the start of an exciting time for club and country.
