Declan Rice has faced criticism from England supporters following his performance against Bulgaria, as reported by The Daily Star.
He was also given a rating of 6 by The Telegraph, who added: “Possibly a surprising selection ahead of Harry Winks, Rice does not offer the quality of passing of the Tottenham man but he is a disciplined performer.”
However, the statistics provided by FootballTalentScout dispel some of the things claimed, showing how instrumental he actually was:
Declan Rice vs Bulgaria
111 touches
100 passes
96% pass accuracy
1 key pass
3 dribbles won
7/8 accurate long balls
3 tackles won
3 interceptionsSuperb once again in that holding midfielder role. Top prospect. pic.twitter.com/roegjmVFRA
— FootballTalentScout (@FTalentScout) September 7, 2019
It was also added that Rice made the most tackles and interceptions of any England player, though what will be most surprising to the doubters is that he made more forward passes than anyone else.
There weren’t many Hammers fans who were doubting him, so it is good to see this backed up with hard statistics – impressive ones at that.
As well as FootballTalentScout’s statistics, his performance was backed up by WhoScored, who had him down as the fourth-best player on the pitch with a rating of 8.1, behind Harry Kane, Raheem Sterling and Ross Barkley.
A selection of Twitter reaction to the statistics, including posts from supportive West Ham fans, can be seen below:
My midfielder
— joel cheshire (@joelwhu41) September 7, 2019
Did exactly what his manager and team mates needed him to do …
— Carl 1895 #teamisla (@CaW1895) September 7, 2019
@itvfootball show this to your pundits!
— Kd Sandhu (@kds88v) September 7, 2019
111 touches and 100 passes????? what
— marcus (@ftblmxrcus) September 7, 2019
— Luke Bachmann (@Bachmann1996) September 7, 2019
I think it’s actually embarrassing the lack of knowledge a lot of supposed @England fans have when it comes to assessing a defensive midfielder like @_DeclanRice and his role in the team. He hasn’t put a foot wrong in this game, outstanding performance.
— BKHammer (@BKhammer1) September 7, 2019
West Ham fans, how integral is Rice for club and country? Join the discussion by commenting below…
