- Declan Rice played the full 90 minutes in England’s 2-1 defeat to Spain on Sunday
- Rafael van der Vaart was not impressed by Rice’s performance in the Euro final
- Midfielder Rice joined Arsenal from West Ham last summer for a fee of £105m.
Rafael van der Vaart has attacked Declan Rice following England’s 2-1 defeat to Spain in Sunday’s Euro 2024 final.
Rice played every minute of England’s seven games in Germany, including all 90 on Sunday.
But former Netherlands and Tottenham star Van der Vaart was unimpressed by the Arsenal midfielder’s performance.
Rice, who cost Arsenal £105m when he joined from London rivals West Ham in July last year, attempted 40 passes against Spain, more than any of his team-mates.
But Van der Vaart criticised the 25-year-old for not making enough forward passes.
Declan Rice pictured looking dejected after England’s 2-1 defeat to Spain in the Euro 2019 final
Arsenal midfielder Rice played the full 90 minutes for England in Berlin on Sunday night.
Rafael van der Vaart, pictured in 2022, was highly critical of Rice after Sunday’s game
Talking about US In his homeland, Van der Vaart said: ‘100 metres for Declan Rice… what does he do?
‘He comes to pick up the ball and gives it back to John Stones. It’s no use.
“If you’re really worth 100 metres, then you should be able to play a ball forward.”
Following her appearance on Sunday, Rice has now represented England 58 times at senior international level.
Nineteen of those appearances were in major tournaments.
Rice was photographed walking past the trophy with a silver medal around his neck after Sunday’s final.
Van der Vaart was one of Tottenham’s best players during the 2010–11 and 2011–12 seasons.
Van der Vaart, who scored 28 goals in 77 appearances for Spurs between 2010 and 2012, was capped 109 times by the Netherlands during his playing career.
He scored 25 goals for his country, including one at Euro 2012.
