West Ham midfielder Declan Rice made his full international debut as England thrashed Montenegro 5-1 in Podgorica last night.
The 20-year-old played the full 90 minutes for Gareth Southgate’s side, barely putting a foot wrong in what many were expecting to be a hostile atmosphere.
Fans on Twitter feel Rice could well be a mainstay of England’s midfield for many years to come:
Hit the ground running with England. Well done Declan! ???⚒
— Michelle (@MichelleIrons10) 25 March 2019
Keep him like you did Bobby Moore for several more years yet.
— John McCarthy (@JohnMcC35020422) 25 March 2019
So cool, dec will hold up a cup for England
— michael ohagan (@MouseOhagan) 25 March 2019
A great game, so composed
— Adam H (@AdaminBarnet) 25 March 2019
Very mature performance
— Aaron Bayfield (@abayfieldwhu) 25 March 2019
Brilliant, solid performance
— Kevin Phillips (@KPKPKP13) 25 March 2019
Ours ⚒
— Steve’ ⚒ (@StevehWHU) 25 March 2019
He’s an absolute unit, he’s awesome and probably one of the worlds best youngsters
— Joshua_Beckerleg (@BeckerlegJoshua) 25 March 2019
Gonna be a top player this lad , involved in everything
— shane copley (@mufccopley) 25 March 2019
Solid performance Dec’s
— Westham Tel (@tel_westham) 26 March 2019
It has been an incredible rise for Rice since Hammers boss Manuel Pellegrini opted to convert the player from a centre-back into a fully fledged holding midfielder.
He has all the attributes to make it in the position. He is a good tackler with the ability to anticipate and intercept opposition attacks, but he has the composure on the ball and the mentality to play at the top level.
Considering he has only played in midfield fulltime for the best part of eight months, it will be exciting to see how the youngster develops once he has had more game time in the role.
