England midfielder Declan Rice has spoken out in support of Gareth Southgate staying in charge of the Three Lions despite a quarter-final defeat to France that saw them crash out of the 2022 World Cup.
Goals from Aurelien Tchouameni and Olivier Giroud ultimately proved decisive, with Harry Kane missing from the spot when handed a chance to level from 12 yards for the second time on the night.
Declan Rice’s game by numbers vs. France:
100% long balls completed
95% pass accuracy
7 recoveries
3 interceptions
2/3 tackles won
1 chance createdFantastic again. 👏🏼🦁 pic.twitter.com/lqGZHvlmx1
— Dan Woffenden (@danwoff98) December 10, 2022
Ultimately, though England were the better side for much of the game, they drew criticism for their substitutions and could not kill off the game, allowing France to cling on to a slender victory.
And it raised added questions about the future of Gareth Southgate, who had been reportedly ready to step down after the tournament. Speaking after the exit, however, Southgate explained that he was in no rush to make his final decision.
“These tournaments take a lot out of you and I need time to reflect”, he told the media.
“We’ve done that after every tournament and that’s the right thing to do.”
“For me personally I hope it stays. I don’t know and there’s a lot of talk around that. But I think he has been brilliant for us and I think there’s a lot of criticism that’s not deserved”, the West Ham man revealed.
Declan Rice’s game by numbers vs. France:
100% long balls completed
95% pass accuracy
7 recoveries
3 interceptions
2/3 tackles won
1 chance createdFantastic again. 👏🏼🦁 pic.twitter.com/lqGZHvlmx1
— Dan Woffenden (@danwoff98) December 10, 2022
“He has taken us so, so far; further than people can expect. Tonight he got everything spot on and it’s not on him.”
“The tactics were right, we played the right way, we were aggressive and we stopped Mbappe, who was quiet. It was two goals against the run of play and that’s not down to the manager, it’s up to us on the pitch.”
“I really hope he stays because the core group that we’ve got and what he has made for us is so special and I love playing for him and I love playing for England.”
