Declan Rice refused to celebrate his goal for England against the Republic of Ireland, but admitted afterwards to enjoying a “really nice feeling”.
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Midfielder earned three caps for IrelandHas been part of the Three Lions since 2019Found the target in Nations League clashWHAT HAPPENED?
The Arsenal midfielder earned three senior international caps for Ireland in 2018, having represented them at youth level from U17. He switched allegiance to England – the country of his birth – in 2019 and has gone on to make 59 appearances for the Three Lions.
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Rice found the target in the most recent of those, as he put England on their way to a 2-0 UEFA Nations League win at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin. Jack Grealish – another of those to have defected from Ireland to England – netted the other goal.
AFPWHAT RICE SAID
Grealish did celebrate, but Rice was apologetic after finding the back of the net. While he favoured a respectful reaction, rather than an emotional one, the 25-year-old told England’s when making his way down the tunnel and back to the dressing room: “I've not watched it back yet but I've heard it's a really good finish – the boys have been telling me. I've made up the yards and ran from back to front. It's something I'm really strong and good at, and for it to fall to me in the box… if you don't make up those yards then you don't score. To set up one and then score for Jack, it was a really nice feeling to be honest.”