Laura Woods and Ally McCoist share verdict on West Ham United star Declan Rice when naming combined France-England XI
Laura Woods and Ally McCoist are in agreement that West Ham midfielder Declan Rice would be included in a combined England and France XI.
The Hammers skipper started in midfield once again as England kept a third consecutive clean sheet to beat Senegal 3-0 in the Round of 16 at the World Cup to set up a crunch clash with France in the quarter-final on Saturday (10 December).
When discussing the fixture on the talkSPORT breakfast show (5 December, 6:14am), Woods asked McCoist about a combined XI between the sides and the Rangers legend was quick to make some big selections, including whether to include Rice in midfield or not.
“I’m taking all of the England midfield, I’m taking the England goalkeeper, for sure,” he said, and Woods agreed.
While the didn’t discuss defenders, they did disagree on the forward line with Woods naming Manchester City ace Phil Foden alongside Harry Kane and Kylian Mbappe, while McCoist opted for Barcelona man Ousmane Dembele instead.
Guaranteed
France have long been lauded for their incredible strength in depth that they have in their squad, but their midfield in this tournament has looked weaker due to several injuries.
With no Paul Pogba or Ngolo Kante available, Aurelien Tchouameni has been given a key role alongside Adrien Rabiot and Antoine Griezmann who has taken on a new role.
Rice has been partnered by Jude Bellingham and Jordan Henderson in this tournament and England have been among the best sides in the competition so far, and have fully earned the plaudits they’ve received and interest they’re garnering.
West Ham have known for a long time that Rice is among the best midfielders in the world and his performances on the biggest stage have shown that they were right, and that he belongs among the elite.
He’d be a guaranteed starter in the midfield alongside Bellingham, and the rest can argue over that third spot between them because Dec isn’t going anywhere.