England took on Denmark in their second matchday of Euro 2024. The match ended in 1-1 draw. There has been a lot of criticism amongst the fans regarding both England players and manager. Arsenal legend Emmanuel Petit reflected his thoughts about the match. The World Cup and Euro winner with France has been unimpressed by Declan Rice’s performance.
England clashed with Denmark on their second matchday of Euro 2024. Gareth Southgate’s side were hoping to grab all three points and achieve round of 16 qualification. However they had to settle for one point due to superb performance by Danish side.
It was in 18th minute when Kyle Walker’s cross fell into Harry Kane’s way. Kane gave the three lions lead with an easy finish. However England’s joy didn’t last long. Morten Hjulmand equalised for Denmark with an absolute screamer from around 30 yards. England tried their best to get their lead back but were unlucky to achieve that. After the match there has been a lot of criticism about Gareth Southgate and certain players.
Arsenal legend Emmanuel Petit about Rice against Denmark
One of the players who was not at his best against Denmark is Declan Rice. Emmanuel Petit took his time to reflect about what he saw on the pitch. Petit was unable to recognise Rice on the field according to talkSPORT.
Petit compared Rice’s time with Gunners and England. According to him Rice is more comfortable and confident with the Premier League side because he has trust and friends in the club. However its not the same case when it comes to international side. Former French international thinks that the balance of England national team is not right which is causing them problems.
Speaking about Rice in particular, Petit said that the Arsenal midfielder was totally off throughout the game. The 25 year old looked unconfident and the balance of the team didn’t seem to help him at all. Petit thinks Rice should have been more active offensively as well as helping the team defensively when opposition had the ball by pressing actively.
United legend Gary Neville also had the similar view. According to him, Rice is able to achieve better results with Arsenal due to the quality of players he has around him.
Declan Rice against Denmark
Declan Rice was not at his best in the game against Denmark. He was partnered with Trent Alexander Arnold by Gareth Southgate. However Rice’s ratings has not been bad as he received a solid rating of 7. Rice completed 58 out of the 64 attempted passes along with achieving 80 touches throught the game. He completed 3 out of 4 long balls. Rice registered one shot on target along with one successful dribble.
However Rice lost the possesion 11 times. He won 4 out of 7 ground duels and was only able to win 1 out of 4 ariel duels. The Arsenal midfielder made 4 clearances along with 3 tackles. However he wasn’t able to achieve any key passes and also had zero interceptions throughout the game.
Gareth Southgate faces criticism
Arsenal legend Petit also talked about Gareth Southgate not proving effective for England national team. Along with him many fans have criticised Southgate for not getting the results.
Southgate has been using Trent Alexander Arnold as defensive midfielder and Phil Foden as left winger. However this tactics have not proved effective for him from what we have seen so far. Gareth Southgate when asked about using Arnold as midfielder responded that the team has not been able to find proper replacement for Kalvin Philips. Harry Kane and Jude Bellingham who both found the back of the net once have also not been at their best. Southgate’s tactics have been criticised a lot and many of the English fans think its time for a change in management.
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