Leonardo Bonucci: Declan Rice’s comments spurred on Italy vs England
Leonardo Bonucci has insisted that the comments of West Ham ace Declan Rice ahead of the European Championship final spurred Italy on.
England booked a place in the showdown at the Wembley Stadium in July, and the Hammers midfielder, 22, claimed the Three Lions were highly motivated heading into the clash.
Luke Shaw put Gareth Southgate’s side ahead two minutes into the game, but Bonucci drew the Italians level 22 minutes into the second-half.
A winner had to be decided through penalties, and the visitors ran out 3-2 winners.
The Juventus centre-back is still relishing their victory and he has a piece of advice for Rice.
“We didn’t pay much attention to it until the Spain game,” Bonucci told The Athletic.
“Then the anger inside of us began to mount. We wanted to show them that the final hadn’t already been decided. That they hadn’t already won. Hearing that song on repeat and the comment from Declan Rice saying England were 10 times more motivated to win than us… well, they’re the kind of mistakes young players make.
“You don’t say that. You should never say you want something more than somebody else or you’re better than somebody else.”
Costly?
An excited Rice could not wait to play in a major final for the first time in his career, but things could have gone differently had he chosen his words carefully.
Italy would still have wanted to win the game if the West Ham man said nothing and regardless of what he said, but his choice of words surely made them more determined ahead of the game.
Playing in front of their fans gave England a psychological edge, but the Italians boasted of more experience and calm heads, and they were keen to punish the Three Lions.
Rice would have been disappointed to lose the game, but he will always learn from the experience and look forward to another final.
West Ham have started the new season brightly, impressing in the Premier League, Europa League and League Cup.
David Moyes has plans to guide his team into the top-four and also challenge for silverware this term, and having a quality midfielder in the mould of Rice boosts his side’s chances.
Should the Irons or England reach a final soon, the youngster will definitely be giving a lot of thought to whatever he says pre-game.
In other West Ham news, agent of Hammers ace has requested talks with club after unfair decision.
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