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West Ham ace Declan Rice lifts lid on failure that will 'haunt' him forever
West Ham star Declan Rice has lifted the lid on his England career thus far ahead of Friday’s [April 1] 2022 FIFA World Cup draw.
The Hammers midfielder featured in both games against Switzerland and Ivory Coast as Gareth Southgate’s side prepare for the major tournament in November/December.
Rice along with the rest of the Three Lions players will be hoping to right the wrongs of losing in the 2020 Euro final against Italy last summer.
“I’ve been fortunate enough to be a member of the senior England squad for three years now and I’ve already had plenty of highs and lows in that time,” Rice told West Ham.
“Obviously, the high was of course the summer [and playing at Euro 2020], but the disappointment of losing the final will haunt me forever. But we also had some unbelievable highs, and just the whole route to the final, especially beating Germany, was special.
“It’s been an up and down journey and at the start, it was really tough because I was a younger player just finding my feet. I made some mistakes, but of course, that’s just part and parcel and you need to do that in order to learn and I’m happy with the progress I’ve made.”
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Motivation
West Ham fans were happy enough that Rice was simply involved in the Euro’s squad. Nobody knew whether he was going to play with Jordan Henderson fighting to bet fit for the tournament.
Even with the Liverpool captain being fit enough to play, Southgate still backed Rice and the rest is history or it could have been if the Three Lions went all the way.
He has now established himself as a stalwart in the team and it would be great if a Hammer could be in the side when England eventually wins a tournament after all these years after having so many involved in the World Cup-winning team of 1966.
His international failure should only fuel him more for the Irons. What better way is there to get over missing out on a trophy than by winning one and the 23-year-old has an excellent opportunity in the Europa League.
Hopefully, he can use his great experience and talent to help the Hammers on their way to victory.
In other West Ham news, Lyon eye a summer move for Irons defender Issa Diop according to a report.
Be sure to follow West Ham Zone on Facebook for 24/7 updates on the Hammers plus more exclusive interviews with Frank McAvennie.