West Ham fans absolutely adore Declan Rice. The 20-year-old is looking like the heir to Mark Noble’s throne as the Hammers’ skipper should he stick around long enough, and it’s not hard to see why. However, he’s just 20-years-old, he’s going to have bad games and make mistakes.
Against the Czech Republic on Friday night whilst turning out for England, he had one of those games, and in a midfield three consisting of himself, Jordan Henderson and Mason Mount in an unfamiliar 4-2-3-1, a shape in which the Three Lions rarely use under the management of Gareth Southgate.
On the night, as bad as Rice might have been, he certainly wasn’t alone in his performance. Henderson was equally poor, and the likes of Danny Rose, Michael Keane and Harry Maguire all struggled on the night, receiving marks of either 4 or 5 out of 10 from Sky Sports.
However, going in too deep on the criticism of Rice is harsh and unwarranted. The 20-year-old has featured in every single minute of action in the Premier League for the Hammers this season and has been one of the club’s standouts.
At his young age, the versatile centre-back/defensive midfielder is approaching his 100th senior appearance for the Irons having already racked up 78 games, and with five caps for England his career is certainly in its infancy, meaning there will be a lot more to come.
However, at this stage in his time as a footballer, he already has a Transfermarkt valuation of £45m and some big performances in his locker. The chances are that he will be relied upon by Gareth Southgate in the future, and one poor display should certainly not be enough to knock the young man’s confidence.
