Declan Rice and Bukayo Saka of Arsenal were named in the starting lineup as England defeated the Netherlands 2-1 to secure their spot in the Euro 2024 championship.

This season, Rice has been an important player for both Arsenal and England, playing both up front and at the base of the midfield. 
After some difficulty, Rice found his best form in the middle of the park with Manchester United youngster Kobbie Mainoo in the victory over Switzerland. However, despite England’s 2-1 victory over The Netherlands, Rice had a challenging night on an individual basis because he gave up the ball in the build-up to Xavi Simons’ opening goal.

Arsenal supporters have voiced their concerns over Rice, saying he occasionally appeared very different from his typical self as Ronald Koeman’s team put a lot of pressure on him to try to make errors.

Following Declan Rice’s challenging performance in England’s victory against the Netherlands, Arsenal supporters voice their concerns.
Some Arsenal supporters acknowledged on X that Rice wasn’t at all at his best. This is concerning going into the championship game because some think he isn’t playing in his ideal midfield role.

One Arsenal supporter wrote, “Not even gonna pretend here, Rice has been pretty bad.”“Thank heavens that Rice is playing for England and not Arsenal.”

But some supporters argued that Rice’s problems against Slovakia were caused by an imbalance in the England team, which had an impact on the Arsenal player.

Although Rice is clearly not a 6, the primary problem is that England’s left side is nonexistent. One fan wrote, “The team is unbalanced because there is no outlet from the left.”

Rice is a box-to-box player, so let him go on the offensive and put an end to his six-gimmick, which calls for him to play from deep. “He’s not a six,” another admirer remarked.

“Rice has been excellent except from the error. But you can’t be making that mistake in that area of the pitch,” a fan claimed.

Can Declan Rice thrive at the base of midfield for England?

With Rice playing so well in the win over Switzerland, England appeared to be finding their midfield balance. Still, this was one of Rice’s trickier performances.

The first goal of the game was scored by Simons after the 25-year-old was dispossessed close to his own area. This was a disappointing performance from a guy who has been dependable throughout the season.

He developed into the game, but it was obvious that The Netherlands had him in their sights as he was taken out multiple times. Considering his history, he won’t be worried about it before the championship match against Spain, even though supporters will be.
Rice will have a difficult assignment ahead of him as he goes up against Rodri, a star for Manchester City, in the midfield. If Spain wins the majority of the possession, Rice will also have to disturb their impressive midfield trio, which include Dani Olmo, a long-term objective for Mikel Arteta.