Declan Rice tonight was involved in what he described as the biggest match of his career as England were beaten by Holland tonight. Here’s how Danny Leach – Claret and Hugh’s PlayerWatch man – saw his game
23 – Intercepts a stray pass preventing Wijnaldum breaking into the box
54 – Prevents Wijnaldum breaking into the box
54 – Tackles Depay and plays the ball down the left to Barkley
62 – Clears a Netherlands free kick which arrives to the back post down the right wing
64 – Ruthlessly sweeps the ball off Depay’s feet and plays a ball over to Kane who cannot hold up the ball
74 – Intercepts a Wijnaldum pass forward into the box
75 – Takes the ball past Bergwijn and plays the ball out wide to Chilwell
78 – Misses a tackle on Bergwijn who plays the ball out wide to Depay who puts a dangerous cross in
82 – Clears the ball to safety after Wijnaldum knocks the ball towards the England box
87 – Makes a crucial tackle on van de Beek in the box and clears the ball away
90 – Loses a 50/50 with Depay who is able to take the ball around him
94 – Creates a neat piece of attacking play, playing a one-two with Sterling and chipping the ball immediately to Henderson on the left who crosses the ball in
ET:
92 – Misses a header as Depay’s ball sails over him to Dumfries who crosses the ball in
105 – Substituted in half time of extra time for Dele Alli
Verdict – 6.5 – Normal service was resumed for Rice tonight looking comfortable in the England midfield despite De Jong dictating the game overall tonight. He must be one of the most reliable players in the England squad currently as he played simple football at its best making the play tick for England when in possession. He also prevented the Netherlands offensive play becoming to imposing as he made many tackles and blocks particularly in the second half as they were in the ascendency. His third England cap was good despite the loss. However his counterpart De Jong was more imposing as Rice was unable to create many attacking moves.
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