Rice sees similarities between England and Holland ahead of Nations League clash

Declan Rice can see similarities between Englands burgeoning squad and that of their Nations League Finals opponents Holland.England face Ronald Koemans side in a semi-final clash in Guimaraes a week on Thursday and the 20-year-old West Ham midfielder is anticipating an exciting game, with Holland expected to feature youngsters such as Matthijs De Ligt and Frenkie De Jong alongside the likes of Virgil Van Dijk and Georginio Wijnaldum.Having switched allegiance from the Republic of Ireland, Rice made his England debut in a Euro 2020 qualifier with Czech Republic in March before earning his first start against Montenegro three days later.Declan Rice says England are confident ahead of their clash with Holland (Tim Goode/PA)Asked whether there were similarities between the teams, he said:For sure. I think its pretty much the same to be honest a mixture of old heads and some really young players coming through. They are really, really exciting, weve seen that with Ajax in the Champions League.Theyve got some great players, but in our squad as well weve got fantastic young players who have performed at such a high standard this season. We know its going to be tough, but were confident for sure.Rice played 33 of West Hams final 34 games of the season and is happy with his form going into the Nations League Finals.Declan Rice has been a key member of the West Ham first team this season (Victoria Jones/PA)Consistency is key, he added. Ive kept myself in good shape to play in pretty much every game this season.Ive been lucky enough to have a manager who has put their trust in me, along with my team-mates as well.Being the youngest player in the squad and playing week in, week out, they give me the confidence to go out there and perform at the level Ive been performing at.(function(i,s,o,g,r,a,m){i['GoogleAnalyticsObject']=r;i[r]=i[r]||function(){
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