Stan Collymore: I’ve never seen West Ham United star Declan Rice do what he did against USA
Stan Collymore has suggested Declan Rice was “chugging” as the West Ham captain featured in England’s 0-0 draw with the USA.
Rice played the full 90 minutes for Southgate’s men with England now needing to avoid a heavy defeat to Wales in their final group game to qualify for the round of 16.
However, Collymore was impressed with Gregg Berhalter’s American side, who made life hard for Declan Rice and Jude Bellingham in midfield.
“Let’s take nothing from the USA, either, because they came out with a lot of credit. They showed us they are a really good, young, aggressive, front-footed team, particularly in the first half when they outwitted and outfought Gareth Southgate’s men,” said Collymore (Sunday People, 27 November, page 66 & 67).
“I’ve never seen Declan Rice and Jude Bellingham chugging as much as they did in the first 15 minutes of the second half.”
Learn from it
Many people forget Rice is still only 23 and he will learn from his experiences at the World Cup in Qatar. England’s performance as a whole was unrecognisable from their 6-2 victory over Iran in their opening fixture. America were far more energetic and aggressive and were probably unfortunate not to pick up a famous victory against Gareth Southgate’s men.
The World Cup is a huge opportunity for Rice to show he’s more than capable of competing with some of the best players. His future is a huge bone of contention among fans. Six Foot Two report (25 November) there is still significant interest in the midfielder, with his contract situation still uncertain at the London Stadium.
With West Ham floundering down the wrong end of the table it’s looking more and more likely Rice will depart the club at some point with the England international needing to test himself in the Champions League.
Chelsea have always been long-term admirers of Rice and with Todd Boehly making decisions at Stamford Bridge, there’s a chance he could launch a mega-money bid.