The West Ham squad are currently in Scotland on a pre-season tour but that does not mean they are not following Euro 2020 as avidly as the rest of us. Angelo Ogbonna’s screams as his beloved Italy won their semi-final against Spain via a penalty shootout were caught on camera by teammate Manuel Lanzini, and with England up next Mark Noble has revealed how emotional he is finding Declan Rice’s progress with the Three Lions. Noble took his son to Wembley to watch England defeat Germany in the last 16, with Rice admitting after the game he was overjoyed to see his captain there to cheer him on.
Declan Rice post-match said: “I was buzzing to see them. It really made me happy.”
For Noble, it was a proud moment to watch a man he sees as family do himself proud on the biggest of stages,
Mark Noble said: “It’s been an absolute joy watching him play at the Euros, and emotional for myself at times because I still see him as a young kid coming into the team. I’ve got such a close relationship with him and his family and it goes beyond football really. I see him as a little brother, and we just hope obviously that he can keep on playing the way he does, keep winning games and hopefully, in a week’s time, that he lifts that trophy, because that would be very special.”
It is not only Rice who Noble has enjoyed watching represent the club at Euro 2020 with Vladimir Coufal, Tomas Soucek and Andriy Yarmolenko all making it to the quarter-final stages of the tournament.
Mark Noble said: “I’m proud of how all the boys have done at the Euros. The success of the likes of Vlad and Tom shows the direction our recruitment has gone in. It’s a massive reason why we’ve done so well last year.”
However, despite being thrilled with all his teammate’s exploits at the tournament as a proud Englishman there is only one man Noble truly wants to triumph.
Mark Noble said: “I’m hoping when Dec comes back, it’s with some silverware. We hope that the next time we see Declan he’s got a medal round his neck, because that will be very special for us, the club and for himself also.”
