Featured Image Credit: Getty
Topics: England, Declan Rice, Football
Luke Davies
Declan Rice gave an England teammate the highest of praise after his performance in the 3-0 victory over Wales.
Rice, 26, played 70 minutes and captained the Three Lions in the absence of usual skipper Harry Kane during Thursday’s friendly match at Wembley.
Morgan Rogers put England ahead with his first international goal on three minutes before his Aston Villa teammate Ollie Watkins doubled the home side’s lead eight minutes later.
England were three goals to the good on 20 minutes, after Bukayo Saka smashed past a helpless Karl Darlow from the edge of the penalty area.
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Marc Guehi, who provided two assists as well as helped England to a clean sheet, was among several players who impressed on the night, while Jordan Pickford made history to become the first Three Lions goalkeeper to achieve eight successful clean sheets in 90-minute appearances for the national team.
But in his post-match interview with ITV Sport, Rice was quick to praise another England star who has impressed fans, head coach Thomas Tuchel and his own teammates since his first cap in September.
Nottingham Forest midfielder Elliot Anderson is just three caps into his England career but has yet to put a foot wrong in a Three Lions shirt.
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On his debut against Andorra, he received praise from Thomas Tuchel after putting in a Man of the Match performance before performing well in the 5-0 win away at Serbia just three days later.
Anderson, 22, started alongside Rice in the heart of midfield against Wales and once again put in a solid showing.
Rice claimed that he didn’t “think he can play at a higher level” when giving his assessment of Anderson’s performance.
"He has taken it all in his stride and is playing like he plays for his club,” Rice said of Anderson.
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“When you have a lad who is that confident and comes in and feels he does not have to do anything different, it's like autopilot the way he plays.
“We have built up a really good relationship in midfield, we have had close relationships there, and we are playing closer together."
What this means for Jude Bellingham, who was left out of Tuchel’s most recent squad, is still unclear, but competition for places is no doubt a healthy problem for the England manager to have ahead of next summer’s World Cup.
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England now have just 244 days to prepare for the World Cup, a period in which they will have just two more camps – in November and March.