5 months ago
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DECLAN RICE has been branded “USELESS” following his display in the Euro 2024 final.
The £105million Arsenal midfielder was one of England‘s better performers in the early stages of the tournament.
GETTY
GETTY
GETTYBut the 25-year-old – like many of his team-mates – underperformed in Sunday’s final against Spain, which they lost 2-1.
Rice was a key cog in the Arsenal team that narrowly missed out on the Premier League title and reached the quarter-finals of the Champions League last season.
But former Tottenham and Netherlands midfielder Rafael van der Vaart hasn’t been impressed by what he’s seen of the Gunners star.
The 41-year-old told NOS: “€100M for Declan Rice. What does he do?
“He comes to collect a ball only to pass it back to John Stones. He is useless.
“If you are truly worth €100M, then you should be able to play a ball forward.”
Rice played every minute of England’s unsuccessful Euros campaign and will be a key fixture in the team for years to come.
While Rice’s England future is almost certain, the same can’t be said for manager Gareth Southgate.
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Maybe Kane really is cursed as trophy drought goes on... he may never get a better chance with England
IT now seems as though he really is cursed. Along with the rest of us, writes Charlie Wyett.
Tragically, unbelievably, Harry Kane’s agonising search for a trophy still continues and you know have to wonder whether he will ever actually manage it.
Certainly for England, in any case.
Kane has now suffered defeat in three major club finals and two finals of the European Championships.
Last night, the Three Lions captain was so ineffective that he was replaced by Ollie Watkins just after the hour.
Like much of this tournament, he really struggled to make the impact when England needed him, not that he had much service.
He had one shot in the first half and that was Rodri, who subsequently injured himself and went off at the break.
When Cole Palmer struck that brilliant equaliser, Kane was off on his feet from the bench, only for the national team to get another kick in the bo**ocks at the end.
Kane was substituted in both the games against Switzerland and Holland which England went on to win but on this occasion, he could only witness a gut-wrenching twist just when it looked as though Gareth Southgate’s team had dug their way out of trouble.
The Bayern Munich striker suffered the World Cup 2018 semi-final loss against Croatia, endured heartbreak against Italy in the Euro2020 final and then missed from the spot in the World Cup 2022 quarter-final against France.
He really thought that this was his time, even though England did not play well in Germany.
Kane will know that he will have more opportunities with England. But not many more.
The World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico seems a long way away and it will surely be under a new manager. Will England be better than they are now? Probably not.
And we are all left to wonder how much better England would have been with a fit and firing Kane at his very best.
Read the full verdict on the curse of Harry Kane…
Or check out all of Charlie Wyett’s Euro 2024 stories…
The former Three Lions defender hinted that he could walk away from the job if the team failed to win the tournament before a ball had even been kicked in Germany.
And the 53-year-old once again suggested he may resign after his troops’ latest failure.
He said: “I think England are in a really good position in terms of the experiences they’ve got now. The age of the squad.
“Most of this squad are going to be around not only for the World Cup but the next Euros as well.
“There’s a lot to look forward to but this moment is not any consolation.”
He added: “I don’t think now is a good time to make a decision like that.
“I need to talk to the right people. It’s not for now.”
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