England vs Kosovo: Declan Rice says defensive errors took shine off victory
All three of Kosovo’s goals in the Euro 2020 qualifier came from individual errors
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.England midfielder Declan Rice says the shine was taken off the Euro 2020 qualifying win over Kosovo by their defensive lapses.
The Three Lions roared back from conceding after only 34 seconds at St Mary’s to lead 5-1 at half-time, but a shoddy defensive display after the break saw it end 5-3.
All three of Kosovo’s goals came from individual mistakes and the West Ham man was guilty of giving the ball away in the lead-up to the second goal.
After their early slip, the first half was a brilliant display of attacking football but Rice was left thinking of the negatives.
“I thought first half I was really good along with the rest of the team,” he said.
“In the second half I made a mistake and that has taken the gloss off it for me.
“We are a real threat going forward but we need to keep it tight at the back and stop making mistakes.
“We need to look at the goals we have let in. A mistake from myself, sloppy, I could have done better there and it takes the gloss off it.
“Now I am thinking I am not that happy, I have made a mistake they have scored, (Harry) Maguire’s given a penalty away, Keano (Michael Keane) made a mistake.
“But it is part and parcel, we are never going to be perfect. The main thing is we got the three points and we are unbeaten.”
As with the Nations League defeat to Netherlands in the summer, the dangers of playing out from the back were highlighted with the way England conceded two of their goals as Keane and Rice gave the ball away in dangerous positions.
Rice insists England are not going to change their approach.
“The way we have been working all week on building from the back, playing through the lines, the manager is never going to change that,” he said.
“The manager is never going to go route one, he is going to live by that.
“We kept getting on the ball, we could have scored another two or three in the second half.
“It was really strange, conceding the goal in the first 30 seconds, it was tough to take mentally.
“You see how good we were in the first half to score five, how good we were going forward, the threat we had.
“First half I thought we were top, then second half I don’t know what happened, a couple of mistakes from me, the penalty and it looked like we had a tough task on our hands.
“Luckily enough we took control of the game, got a foothold and managed to see the game out.”
PA
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments