DECLAN RICE EXPLAINS WHY HE REFUSED TO WEAR CAPTAIN'S ARMBAND IN ENGLAND'S WIN OVER IRELAND

Declan Rice says he was reluctant to don the captain's armband in England's 2-0 win over the Republic of Ireland - because he felt it should have gone to John Stones.

The Arsenal star was one of England's standout performers at The Aviva Stadium, where he opened the scoring for Lee Carsley's side before teeing up Jack Grealish for his goal minutes later.

Eagle-eyed fans spotted that Rice seemed to turn down the captain's armband from Harry Kane when the striker was replaced in the closing stages of the match. It was eventually given to Stones - who Rice felt deserved to take the armband.

Rice said post-match: "Kane tried to give me the armband but Stonesy is more senior and experienced than me. I just said to Harry, 'Probably John deserves it more than me. I said to give it to John.'

"That was it. It doesn't need to be made into a bigger thing. John is one of the more senior ones. Usually he is captain when Harry doesn't play so it was the right decision."

His comments were echoed by Carsley, who enjoyed a dream start to his interim reign in charge of the team after stepping up to fill the void left by Gareth Southgate following England's loss in the Euro 2024 final.

The former England Under-21 boss was also asked about Rice's decision to pass on taking the armband and said: "I think John [Stones] was vice-captain so just out of respect with John coming on, he gave him the armband. I don't think he refused it."

Join the debate! What did you make of Rice's performance against Ireland? Let us know here.

Rice represented the Republic of Ireland at youth level and won three senior caps before switching his allegiance to England and was targeted by the home fans at The Aviva Stadium along with Grealish, who made the same change earlier in his career.

While Grealish celebrated his goal, Rice raised his hands apologetically and was subdued after notching the opener - and he explained that it was out of respect to his late grandparents, who were Irish.

He said: "Obviously my grandparents are Irish and they've all passed away now. So I did not want to be disrespectful to them. I really enjoyed myself playing for Ireland and did not think it was appropriate."

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2024-09-07T20:14:19Z dg43tfdfdgfd