After what England beat Germany 2-0 in the round of 16 of the Eurocup, Declan rice he spoke to the media to assess the triumph of the English: “Before the game I told Kalvin that we had to go out for everything. And we have done that,” he summarized on television. The West Ham midfielder, just 22 years old, is already a fixture in Gareth Southgate's starting XI and their performance is a guarantee: “We faced players like Kroos, Goretzka or Gündogan and people said that Kalvin and I could not compete against them. We had to fight each ball as if it were the last of our lives,” he acknowledged.
The win against Germany was followed by another against Ukraine, in addition to two previous and a draw in the group stage, results that have placed England in the semi-finals of the tournament. The common denominator of all the parties has been the pair formed by Declan Rice and Kalvin Phillips, who were united thanks to the injury of Jordan henderson -He had not played any game since February and entered the call for his hierarchy, not because of his state of form- and that they have not moved from the core.
One piece of information serves as an explanation. Since Kalvin Phillips will make his senior debut earlier this season -He did it even before in the Premier League, since he missed the first days due to suspension-, England have only conceded two goals and just one in play. In total, 13 games, 12 starts and 10 wins (1,001 minutes) for Southgate in all this time in which the Leeds captain and midfielder has made a place for himself in the Three Lions.
For its part, Declan Rice is the object of interest of all the greats of the country. His renewal with West Ham is still a mystery, as he only revalues himself during the Eurocup. Another clear proof of their importance is that, with Ukraine 4-0 in the quarterfinals, Southgate decided to replace Rice to give him rest for the semifinals and thus put Henderson, who had not played so many minutes.
Both Rice and Phillips will jump back to Wembley in England's starting XI. This time they will have in front of Denmark. And once again they will try to leave their clean sheet, as it has been happening throughout the championship, so that it enters Sterling, Kane and company can seal the pass to the final of the Eurocopa.