West Ham ace Declan Rice earned his fifth international cap for England against Kosovo last night.
The 20-year-old performed admirably, and despite one mistake that cost his side a goal, he answered his critics.
It seems as though not everyone was impressed with the Hammers midfielder’s display, however.
Sky Sports delivered their player ratings after the match. And surprisingly, they gave the West Ham man a 6/10 – the joint second worst of any England player.
Here’s what they had to say on Rice’s display:
Promising, but far from the finished article. He put in another solid showing, protecting his back four with great authority and breaking up play at key moments to start England counter attacks that define Southgate’s philosophy. One of his crunching tackles in midfield set Sterling on his way to set Sancho up for England’s third goal. However, the West Ham man was at fault for Kosovo’s second goal – a lapse in concentration with his passing that was punished.
Now that summary does seem to be incredibly harsh.
He did, after all, initiate England’s third goal with a crunching challenge in midfield.
The West Ham youngster is clearly talented, and possesses all of the attributes needed to succeed, but it seems as though he is being singled out for unfair criticism.
Here are his stats from last night:
Receive a digest of our best West Ham content each week direct to your mailbox
