Roy Keane was shocked after hearing what Gary Neville said about Arsenal star Declan Rice.
The England midfielder has come under a bit of criticism recently for his performance against Slovenia in the Three Lions’ final group game at Euro 2024.
However, in Rice’s defence, none of his teammates played well either, and that’s down to Gareth Southgate’s management and tactics.
Despite a terrible group stage, England have made it into the next round of the Euros, and they are scheduled to face Slovakia on Sunday.
Rice is expected to start the game, and Neville has now made a prediction about the Arsenal midfielder.
Gary Neville’s prediction about Arsenal’s Declan Rice shocks Roy Keane
England went into Euro 2024 as one of the favourites to win the competition.
Southgate has an unbelievable group of players at his disposal, which is why it’s such a shame that he hasn’t been able to bring the best out of them yet.
England fans will be hoping that things will change against Slovakia on Sunday, and Neville, Keane, Ian Wright and Jill Scott are all very confident that the Three Lions will win.
However, one thing Neville predicted shocked Keane.
The quartet, on the latest episode of the Stick to Football podcast, tried to predict England’s first goalscorer against Slovakia.
Scott predicted Phil Foden, Wright first said Harry Kane before changing his answer to Jude Bellingham, and Keane believes it will be Cole Palmer who breaks the deadlock on Sunday.
Neville, on the other hand, said: “I’m going Rice, first goalscorer!”
Keane, like Scott and Wright, was shocked by what he had just heard and replied: “No chance!”
Neville then added: “I think with Kobbie (Mainoo) playing, he can go forward once, twice, three times a half. He can make those runs.”
Why Neville’s unlikely prediction could come true
Against Slovakia on Sunday, England are expected to dominate the ball.
The Three Lions have done that in almost all of their games so far, but the big problem for them has been the positioning of their attackers.
Kane, Foden and Bellingham all seem to occupy the same spaces, while Bukayo Saka isn’t receiving the support he needs from Kyle Walker at right-back.
If Mainoo does start for England, Rice could get a bit more freedom at times, and the £240,000-a-week (Spotrac) midfielder showed with his 10 goals for Arsenal in the 2023/24 season that he is more than capable of finding the back of the net.
It is unlikely, but there is definitely a chance that Rice will open the scoring for England against Slovakia on Sunday.
