Stan Collymore shares England prediction for West Ham United ace Declan Rice ahead of clash v Senegal
Stan Collymore wants to see West Ham midfielder Declan Rice forging a midfield partnership with Jude Bellingham ahead of England’s Round of 16 World Cup against Senegal on Sunday (4 December).
The football pundit, writing his column for the Sunday People (4 Dec, page 67), suggested that he wants to see England line up in a 3-4-3 formation, which means Jordan Henderson is likely to make way despite the fact he played really well against Wales.
Collymore feels that Rice and Bellingham will form the central midfield pair for the country “sooner rather than later”, and thus Gareth Southgate must start implementing that plan now.
Given the depth of the squad, Collymore feels that Southgate can always bring players like Henderson, Phil Foden, Jack Grealish, and Mason Mount during the game, and predicts a 2-0 win for the Three Lions.
“Kyle Walker gives us an extra insurance at the back, but that team would mean leaving out Jordan Henderson, who did a great job against Wales,” wrote Collymore for Sunday People.
“However, Declan Rice and Jude Bellingham need to be a central midfield duo sooner rather than later, so why not now?”
No pressure
At West Ham, David Moyes usually implements a two-man midfield. Rice is habituated to playing as a holding midfielder alongside Tomas Soucek or others.
Therefore, it won’t be any problem for Rice to step up in whatever role he is being given. Bellingham is a cracking talent, and the duo should be able to handle the midfield properly.
Henderson brings extra energy, leadership qualities, and experience in midfield. The likes of Rice and Bellingham can play with more freedom alongside him.
In a knockout game, it will be ludicrous to take your opponents lightly. On paper, England appears to have a strong squad, but in football, anything can happen on the pitch.
The present edition of the World Cup has already seen so many upsets, and it will be a massive disappointment if England suffers a defeat here, trying to experiment with a new system.
Rice has done well so far, but we all know he can do a lot better. Hopefully, he will start to show his class in the knockout games.