Arsenal star Declan Rice helped England reach the final of Euro 2024, but it was a difficult night for him against The Netherlands.
After performing superbly in England’s quarter-final victory against Switzerland, Rice endured a tough game in the semi-final as he gave the ball away for the opposition to take an early lead.
The Arsenal star came into Euro 2024 fresh off the back of a stellar first season at the Emirates, during which he established himself as one of the best midfielders in the world.
However, some of his performances for England have come under scrutiny despite generally performing well overall before the semi-final, and after their defeat, he has now been criticised in The Netherlands.
Former Dutch International Hans Kraay has now launched an astonishing attack on the Arsenal star following his mistake, despite England going on to win.
Hans Kraay slams Arsenal star Declan Rice after England beat The Netherlands
Speaking via Dutch outlet Voetbalprimeur, Kraay slammed Rice’s ability on the ball compared to his England teammates Phil Foden, Jude Bellingham and Bukayo Saka.
“I just find if you have Foden, Bellingham, Kane and Saka, that you have to get all those good people on the ball, they are unbelievable in the opponent’s half,” he stated.
“Then they score goals, then they look for each other. But we see Declan Rice at the ball in the UK. Jerdy Schouten is five times better.”
The Dutch player he is referring to is PSV Eindhoven star Jerdy Schouten, who lined up against Rice in midfield during the semi-final.
Declan Rice Euro 2024 performance compared to Jerdy Schouten
Rice has quite obviously shown himself to be a level above Schouten over the course of the season, but the Dutch star did perform well against England.
The 27-year-old completed 95% of his passes, and all of his attempted long balls, as he helped bring some more control to the midfield in the second half, whilst also winning five of his seven duels.
Rice did make an error for the Xavi Simons goal, and was far from his usual best, but he was still effective in the tackle, and it says it all that one of his poorest displays still saw him triumph over a strong display from The Netherlands midfielder.
Kraay’s comments on Rice are surprising given the quality he has shown in a more advanced role under Mikel Arteta at Arsenal, but given the brutal manner in which The Netherlands were beaten by his side, some bitterness was to be expected.
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