Declan Rice made his England debut on Friday night.
West Ham United ace Declan Rice has told the club’s official Twitter account that he was happy to play at Wembley Stadium on Friday – because the Hammers beat Spurs there last season.
England took on the Czech Republic on Friday night, and recorded a thumping 5-0 victory to kick off their Euro 2020 qualifying campaign.
Raheem Sterling grabbed all the headlines having scored a superb hat-trick, but Harry Kane got himself on the scoresheet too, with Tomas Kalas hitting an own goal for the final strike.
The game also saw West Ham talent Rice make his England debut, having been introduced as a 63rd minute substitute for Dele Alli.
After a lengthy decision-making process, Rice eventually picked England as the nation he would represent, despite having already made three appearances for Ireland in international friendlies.
The decision has been hugely controversial, as have some of Rice’s tweets from many years ago, but he put all that behind him when he pulled on the England shirt on Friday night.
Now, Rice has admitted that, before the game, he was actually thinking about how West Ham beat Spurs at Wembley last season so knew what to expect from playing there, and feels that he was able to show what he can do in his half-hour cameo.
“I thought ‘we beat Spurs here last season!’ I was here last season, and I knew what the feeling would be like,” said Rice. “It was unbelievable, just to step out with the England players, and I knew that I might get a chance with them to step on the field and show them what I can do. That’s what I was thinking, and luckily enough, that came true,” he added.
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