Arsenal star Declan Rice was unable to enjoy the taste of victory immediately after England defeated Slovakia as TV cameras showed him seething with anger. The England international was pushed away from the scene by his teammates, and was also confronted by some Slovakia players after the incident....Read The Full Story Here ▶
So, why was Arsenal No.41 Declan Rice furious after England progressed into the quarter-final of Euro 2024? Let’s take a look.
Declan Rice left livid after England 2-1 Slovakia
The 25-year-old was fuming after Slovakia boss Francesco Calzona shoved him shortly after Umit Meler blew for full-time.
Clearly frustrated with the Turkish official’s performance, the Italian marched over to give him a piece of his mind, with Rice acting as peacemaker as he attempted to intervene.
However, Calzone pushed the £105m man away rather aggressively, which caused the Arsenal star to reacted with anger himself.
It was highly unprofessional behaviour from the 55-year-old, who totally lost his head after goals from Jude Bellingham and Harry Kane eventually knocked Slovakia out of Euro 2024.
Arsenal No.41 was excellent
On a day where few England players can be proud of their performance, Rice stood out as one of the better performers – statistically, he was the best.
As shown by SofaScore, the man from Kingston upon Thames recorded a match rating of 8.1 – better than any other player on the pitch – as he completed 80 of his attempted 89 passes, and took 109 touches of the ball.
Defensively, Rice won all six of the ground duels he was involved in – including some crunching tackles just as Slovakia looked to be counter attacking – while also winning two aerial duels.
It was a spirited display from the man who Gareth Southgate gave the captaincy to back in March, and if he plays like that against Switzerland on Saturday, England will have a great chance of reaching the semi-final.
