Declan Rice has explained why he didn’t celebrate after he opened the scoring for England in their victory against the Republic of Ireland on Saturday.
The Arsenal star along with Jack Grealish received a hostile reception given the pair had represented the country in the past, with Rice featuring in three friendlies at senior level and Grealish playing up until the under-21’s before switching allegiances.
As is so often the way with football it has a way of writing it’s own scripts with both Rice and Grealish getting on the scoresheet as England cruised to a 2-0 victory.
Since turning down the chance to play for the Republic of Ireland, Rice has gone on to feature in multiple tournaments for the Three Lions, including agonising defeats in the final of the last two European Championships
Back on familiar ground it didn’t take the Arsenal man long to open the scoring as he tucked away a first time finish from inside box after 11 minutes, before setting up Grealish for the second with 26 minutes on the clock.
Rice perhaps surprising to many chose not to celebrate and instead held his hands up in an almost apologetic way as his team-mates celebrated around him.
Speaking after the game the 25-year-old revealed that he wasn’t ever going to celebrate and explained why.
“Obviously it was an amazing feeling to score, but I was never going to celebrate,” he told beIN Sports.
“I have Irish family. My nan and grandad, who are not here anymore, I think it would have been disrespectful to them if I celebrated. My dad was here as well.
“Obviously to score, it was a nice feeling but then I wanted to focus on getting back in the game and try to score more goals.”
Every touch the pair had was greeted with loud boos, but ultimately they had the last laugh and next up for England is a game against Finland on Tuesday before the Premier League returns next weekend.
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