‘We want to make country proud’, says England’s Rice ahead of Euro 2024 final vs Spain
Berlin: England midfielder Declan Rice believes that the men’s team can take inspiration from the women’s side to become “a really big force” in Sunday’s Euro 2024 final against Spain, here at the Olympiastadion.
England are eyeing their first continental men’s title after the Lionesses ended the 56-year trophy drought with a thrilling win over Germany in Euro 2022 final.
Gareth Southgate’s side will play their second consecutive final in the tournament after losing the Euro 2020 title on penalties against Italy at Wembley.
“We saw when the women’s team won it, what it meant to them and the nation. I see some of the girls at Arsenal and that’s what we want. We want to win and make the nation proud,” Rice was quoted as saying by BBC Sport.
“We are back in another final, which is history itself, but now we are aiming to do one more. We don’t want to keep talking about it and getting to finals and be happy with that.
“We now want to be a country where we win. We want to continue to grow and, for the young players coming in, we want to be a really big force,” the Arsenal midfielder added.
Rice was part of the England team that lost to Italy in their first-ever Euro final three years ago on penalties. According to the 25-year-old, the Three Lions were “naive” in front of their home audience at Wembley, but they are determined to defeat Spain, the 2008 and 2012 champions.
“Seeing Italy walk up to lift the trophy at your home stadium lives with you as a football player. We know that in the last final we probably just sat off and didn’t attack as much as we should have. There are not many times you go back-to-back in finals but this group of players are so hungry,” Rice said.
“We know it’s going to be tough and know you can’t overlook Spain, who have been a top nation for so many years. But I’ve never seen a group so motivated, in training, and how we talk with each other around the place. Everyone is so driven to win this game,” he added.
Defender Kyle Walker mirrored Rice’s thoughts, saying that England are better prepared this time as many of the current players have played in the final before.
“The emotion of Wembley was completely different, with miles and miles of people chanting you and cheering you on as you leave St George’s Park,” Walker told BBC Radio 5 Live.
“We’re on a different turf now and maybe that might work to our benefit, where there’s not so much pressure on us. But as people and players, who have experienced these finals before, we have to deliver on the big occasions,” he added.