‘Chasing it’ – Ashley Cole critical of international display from West Ham star
Former England defender Ashley Cole was critical of West Ham midfielder Declan Rice’s part in Belgium’s opening goal on Sunday.
Goals from Youri Tielemans and Dries Mertens gave Belgium a 2-0 win and meant that England are now unable to qualify for the Nations League finals.
Speaking on Sky Sports after the game, Cole highlighted Rice as a player who did not spot the danger ahead of Tielemans opener.
“I think he got attracted more towards Lukaku,” Cole said while analysing Belgium’s opener (Sky Sports 9:55 pm).
“Look where this ball ends up, that would have been Declan running onto that. Now the ball has gone behind him and he’s chasing it. He doesn’t see where the danger is.
“If he had taken that straight run, he would have had Dier with Lukaku and then you have that little bit of balance on the opposite side of the box for any balls that are played off Lukaku.”
This has been a tough Nations League campaign for England, who have struggled more in attack than in defence.
Against Belgium on Sunday they were particularly unlucky, with Belgium scoring two long-range efforts and creating just eight shots to England’s 16.
However, their lack of creativity has been the primary issue and Cole is harsh to focus in on Rice, who has been a consistently solid shield for the national team so far this season.
While Rice does choose to follow Lukaku on the goal, he is right to spot the Inter Milan striker’s danger, with it requiring a deflection and a bit of brilliance from Tielemans to score a goal from that position.
On the night, the 21-year-old made two tackles and four interceptions, while completing 66 of his 67 passes (via WhoScored).
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