Declan Rice call up confirmed
The Three Lions kick off Group A against the Czech Republic at Wembley next Friday before heading to Podgorica to take on Montenegro. Southgate named his 25-man squad for the Euro 2020 double-header,
The 20-year-old appeared for the Republic of Ireland’s youth teams and won three senior caps in friendlies, but FIFA last week ratified his registration switch to England last week.
Yesterday, Rice was announced as the winner of the Irish young player of the year award. An award is he will not be collecting in person in Dubin on Sunday.
Speaking to WHUFC.com Rice told the club website “I am very proud and honoured to have been selected by England, and I am excited to start working with Gareth Southgate, the coaches and the rest of the squad following our match against Huddersfield Town this weekend, As I said last month, I had an extremely difficult decision to make regarding my international future, but I have made that decision and now I just want to focus on the future, continuing to work hard and play as well as I possibly can.
“I know that nothing can be taken for granted, and there is still a lot of hard work ahead of me. However, I am looking forward to the challenge of trying to prove to the England manager that I am worthy of a place in his team, and hopefully continuing to progress my career in the right direction.
“I would also like to take this opportunity to thank the people closest to me for the fantastic support they have given me, and to say how grateful I am for all of the positive and supportive messages I have received in recent weeks.”