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Sky Sports pundit stunned by what she saw West Ham United star Declan Rice do for England v Italy
Former England Lionesses midfielder Jill Scott was blown away by West Ham star Declan Rice’s performance for England against Italy.
The Hammers skipper started and scored in England’s 2-1 win over Italy in Naples on Thursday night (23 March), as the Three Lions opened their Euro 2024 qualifying campaign with a big win.
And speaking live on Channel 4 (26 March, 16:49) before England’s win over Ukraine (26 March), Scott, who was also worked for Sky Sports, was in the mood to sing the praises of the 24-year-old midfielder.
“We were saying how much England had to be on top of their game to stop Italy but I think for us, definitely the England midfield won that battle on Thursday night,” she said.
“But I thought Declan Rice was absolutely fantastic in there. Sometimes you just need to smash someone and get the energy up and I thought he was so good at that.
“Reading the game, even with the ball as well. Look at this for a pass. His vision. I think he could even play higher up as well as a defensive midfielder.
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“I just thought it was a complete midfield performance, and what better way to round it off as a midfielder than to get a goal. I thought he was absolutely amazing on Thursday.”
Quality
At this point anyone who refuses to acknowledge that Declan Rice is a world class midfielder is simply lying to themselves.
On countless occasions now, whether in a claret and blue shirt or a white England shirt, he has shown up in the biggest of games and been the best player on the pitch.
That was the case again against Italy, and the performance against Ukraine while different was more of the same too.
It’s not a coincidence that it’s the best teams on the continent that are linked with a move for Rice this summer, and there’s a reason why West Ham are resigned to losing him but demanding a monster of a transfer fee for it to happen.
He’s one of the best players in our modern history at this club and his performances consistently show that he deserves to be playing the best of the best each week, and that was just another sign to the doubters.