West Ham United and England star Declan Rice has delivered his verdict on Aston Villa midfielder John McGinn and Liverpool defender Andy Robertson
Rice and his England teammates are preparing to take on Scotland having won their opening group stage game on Sunday, against their nemesis from the 2018 World Cup, Croatia.
Scotland don’t play this opener until this afternoon (Monday) but all eyes will quickly turn to Friday’s clash between them and old rivals England at Wembley Stadium.
Ahead of that all-home nations clash, England and West Ham star Rice, who has been linked with the likes of Chelsea and Manchester United this summer, has delivered a glowing verdict on some of Scotland’s standout players.
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“We’re buzzing. Steve Holland said after the game that we can enjoy tonight but [on Monday] we have to crack on,” he said after the Croatia win, as published by the Glasgow Times.
“When you look back on your career at the end, the game on Friday will probably go down as one of the top three you will ever play.
“We know the history with Scotland. We know the type of game it will be.
“We want to focus on the Scotland game and repeat the same performance.
“They’ve got some top players who play in the Premier League. Che Adams, McGinn and Scott in the middle are two warriors and Andy Robertson and Tierney at the back are great leaders and players.
“We are not going into it and say it is going to be easy because that will be wrong. They are going to come and be physical and we need to match that and do more. We need to be ready and we will be ready.”
Rice played a central role as England got off to a fine start against Croatia, and Scotland will expect the same from the likes of McGinn and Robertson, who are some of the crowning jewels of Steve Clarke’s squad.
The two players are equally as important for their clubs with McGinn impressing for Aston Villa over recent years, staying put despite links with Manchester United, while Robertson has been one of Liverpool’s best signings in recent years, becoming a sensation after his £8million move from Hull City in 2017.