How Declan Rice fared on his first England start
The West Ham midfielder delivered an accomplished display.
Declan Rice was handed his first England start in the Euro 2020 qualifier against Montenegro.
Rice played 90 minutes as Gareth Southgate’s men eased to a 5-1 win.
Here, Press Association Sport takes a closer look at how Rice fared.
Winning the shirt
Rice only pledged his allegiance to England over the Republic of Ireland earlier this year so his ascent to Southgate’s starting XI has come quickly. After coming off the bench in Friday’s 5-0 thumping of Czech Republic he replaced the injured Eric Dier to earn a start this time around. It came less than a week after an old tweet surfaced where he appeared to support the IRA, yet there was no negative reaction from the travelling fans. There can be no questions over his commitment to the cause, either, as although television coverage swiftly cut away during the national anthems just before the camera reached him, footage did emerge of him singing God Save The Queen.
An accomplished display
