England’s Declan Rice has come under fire from former Netherlands midfielder Rafael van der Vaart following the team’s 2-1 loss to Spain in the Euro 2024 final. Van der Vaart criticized Rice’s performance and questioned his 100 million pounds price tag.
After England’s defeat to Spain in the Euro 2024 final, Declan Rice has been heavily criticized by former Netherlands midfielder Rafael van der Vaart. The match, held in Berlin, ended in a 2-1 victory for Spain, with Mikel Oyarzabal scoring the decisive goal in the 86th minute. This win marked Spain’s record-breaking fourth European Championship title.
Rice, who played alongside Kobbie Mainoo in central midfield, struggled to keep up with the Spanish midfielders, who controlled possession throughout the match. England managed only 34 percent possession and failed to capitalize even after Spain’s influential midfielder Rodri was substituted early.
Rafael van der Vaart, speaking on Dutch TV channel NOS, expressed his disappointment with Rice’s performance. He stated, “100M pounds for Declan Rice… what does he do? He comes to collect a ball only to pass it back to John Stones. He is useless. If you are truly worth 100m pounds, then you should be able to play a ball forward.”
England manager Gareth Southgate admitted that the team’s inability to maintain possession was a significant factor in their loss. “Tonight we fell short, we didn’t keep the ball well enough. We actually defended well in the first half in particular, limited their possibilities, but we couldn’t play through the counter press well enough,” Southgate said. “We actually didn’t really use the ball well until we were a goal down, then we had a decent period in the game. We got the equaliser but I think the physical toll of the issues we came into the tournament with, the extra-time periods and then tonight, having as little of the ball as we did, ultimately that took a big toll.”
Despite starting every game of the tournament for England, Rice’s performances did not consistently match the high standards he set during his first season at Arsenal. The criticism from Van der Vaart adds pressure on the 25-year-old to justify his hefty price tag and prove his worth on the international stage.
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