Declan Rice and his England teammates will look back upon their 1-1 draw against Denmark at Euro 2024 with plenty of regret.
Whilst the Three Lions were able to avoid defeat, and remain top of their group with two games played, this was far from an inspiring display.
Gareth Southgate’s side took the lead as Harry Kane poked home from close range with 18 minutes on the clock. After that point, though, England ceded control of the match, sat deep, and lacked cutting edge when they did get forward.
Arsenal fans felt that Bukayo Saka showed flashes of quality, but even the 22-year-old winger could not do much to really test the Danish defence.
Saka’s fellow Arsenal star, Declan Rice, also endured a tough game. The midfielder was uncharacteristically sloppy on the ball and was unable to drive the team forward.
Rice was lauded by the press for his performance in the win over Serbia last time out, but could not impress the media to the same extent this time around.
British press rate Arsenal star Declan Rice’s performance for England v Denmark at Euro 2024
Whilst the 53-cap international didn’t have a howler, he fell far short of the exemplary standards that he has set for himself with his consistently impressive performances for club and country in recent years.
The Standard gave Rice a 5/10 rating for his performance, noting that he: “Played on top of his centre-backs when England needed someone to step out. Still effective in breaking up the play but far from flawless with the ball.”
Sport Bible also graded him at 5/10, and added: “The Arsenal man made a number of vital interceptions but did misplace more passes than usual.”
Rice received another 5/10 rating from The Independent, who claimed: “A misplaced pass to Guehi which went out for a corner rather summed up the midfielder’s afternoon. There’s little alternative in his position, and covered plenty of ground as usual, but gave the ball away cheaply at times.”
The Shields Gazette were slightly more generous, granting the 25-year-old a 6/10 for his efforts and stating: “Played very deep as England sat back to defend a lead. Protected the defence well but was maybe too cautious in possession.”
Mikel Arteta will be keeping a keen eye on Rice at this tournament. The former West Ham United star has evolved in his time at the Emirates Stadium. Arteta has now made a decision about how Rice will be used by Arsenal next season, but the manager will still be intrigued by how the player fares within Southgate’s system.
Arsenal winners and losers at Euro 2024
In this week’s episode, Will Jones and Rahul Lakhani discussed the first few days of the European Championships. With Arsenal players such as Kai Havertz and Kieran Tierney experiencing mixed starts to the tournament, the pair assessed which Gunners were the winners and losers from the group stages so far.
There was some talk about transfers based off the Euros, with Arsenal-linked Amadou Onana’s display for Belgium discussed, whilst Leandro Trossard’s poor performance was analysed, and Bukayo Saka’s sensational England showing lauded.