Arsenal midfielder Declan Rice started for England as they took on Slovakia in their first knockout round clash of Euro 2024. England got off to a poor start in Gelsenkirchen, as Gareth Southgate’s side were sloppy on the ball, slow in their build up, and lacked incision in the final third. This pattern continued throughout the first half, even after Slovakia went ahead with just 25 minutes on the clock. Declan Rice made the occasional run, and crunched into tackles on one or two occasions, but could not make a tangible impact. Like each of his teammates, the Arsenal man looked short of his be…
