Rice drawbacks clear as Rooney tells England they ‘need’ star pair who are sat at home
Wayne Rooney feels England have already been shown they should have taken two star players to the World Cup, as Declan Rice doesn’t have the right skillset to succeed where they could.
England were a free-flowing attacking outfit in their World Cup opener against Croatia. They won 4-2, with two goals coming in either half for the Three Lions, and attacks constant in the second.
Against Ghana, they couldn’t have been more different. England had just three shots on target, and generally struggled to break down the African nation, as they were held to a 0-0 draw.
The worry for some prior to the tournament was that the side, while solid, might not have had the quality to break down resolute opponents, and Rooney feels that’s been shown already.
He singled out Rice as he made a call for two players who Thomas Tuchel didn’t feel the need to bring.
Rooney said on BBC: “These games are more difficult than games against better team that are better going forward. There’s more space.
“I don’t want to go back to it, but these games are when you need a Phil Foden or a Cole Palmer. Clever players in tight areas.
“With Declan Rice, through all Declan’s qualities, getting in little tight areas and linking play, that’s where you probably need a Foden or a Palmer.”
Not fair to single out Rice
While it’s true that Rice doesn’t have the same capabilities of the likes of Foden and Palmer, that’s not really his job, and there are other players in the squad who can do that.
READ: Clamour for Cole Palmer amid five England exiles Tuchel now needs
Jude Bellingham, Morgan Rogers, Marcus Rashford, Noni Madueke and Bukayo Saka all played a part in the game against Ghana, and none were able to make the breakthrough – though Saka did get in a good position and put a shot on target.
Were either Palmer or Foden in the England squad, they’d likely be playing alongside Rice, not instead of him, and they could all bring different facets to the game, with Rice’s passing ability able to put the Three Lions on the attack.
That does not mean that the two attacking stars should not be in the squad, though. At least one of them should have been, and Palmer showed in the Euros what an impact he can have in a tight game, assisting late against the Netherlands in the semi-final and scoring in the final against Spain.
England will hope they have a man or two in their squad that could have a similar impact at crunch time in this tournament.
