Tonight's Euro 2024 final loss to Spain was much of the same for England.
Having reached the final despite their uninspiring form, their supporters hoped that they would manager to muster a new level of performance for the decider. That was not the case.
Spain were the better team throughout, and while Cole Palmer's equaliser did give the English hope that they would somehow manage to produce yet another unlikely result, this proved to be a bride too far.
In the end, the Spanish ran out as deserving 2-1 winners.
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Dutch Legend Tears Into Declan Rice After England's Euro 2024 Final Loss
Looking at the biggest issues in the England team, it's clear that the midfield was a major cause of concern yet again this evening.
Gareth Southgate's team were thoroughly outplayed in that area, even after Spain's talisman Rodri was forced off at halftime due to injury.
Declan Rice, who has been compared to Rodri by some in the past, had very little impact on the game. He did not put a huge amount of pressure on the opposition, while his influence in possession was non-existent.
His form throughout Euro 2024 has been incredibly poor, with this latest performance leading to some harsh criticism.
Speaking on Dutch television, former Netherlands star Rafael van der Vaart gave a fairly withering takedown of the Englishman's abilities.
🗣️ - Van der Vaart: "€100M for Declan Rice. What does he do? He comes to collect a ball only to pass it back to John Stones. He is useless. If you are truly worth €100M, then you should be able to play a ball forward." [@NOS] pic.twitter.com/pXad6472iR
— 𝐀𝐅𝐂 𝐀𝐉𝐀𝐗 💎 (@TheEuropeanLad) July 14, 2024
€100M for Declan Rice. What does he do? He comes to collect a ball only to pass it back to John Stones.
He is useless. If you are truly worth €100M, then you should be able to play a ball forward.
That's about as damning of an assessment as you are going to get of any player.
Declan Rice was certainly well off it throughout Euro 2024, with his lack of impact tonight going a long way towards deciding the ultimate outcome of the game.
You would hope for more from a player of his reputation.
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