Declan Rice says choosing England over Republic of Ireland was toughest decision of his career
Declan Rice has spoken out for the first time since committing his international future to England over the Republic of Ireland, calling it „the toughest decision“ of his career so far.
Rice, who has Irish grandparents, played for the Republic at youth level and was capped three times at senior level in friendly matches in 2018, but last month switched his allegiance to England, the country of his birth.
The 20-year-old has enjoyed continued success at club level with West Ham this season, attracting the attention of England boss Gareth Southgate, as well as earning him the Young Player of the Year accolade at the London Football Awards on Thursday.
Speaking after collecting the prize, Rice told Sky Sports News of his excitement at the prospect of joining up with the national squad.
„It is the toughest decision I have had to make so far in my career,“ he said.
„Being so young, I didn’t think I would ever be in a position to make that call but it’s one that I have made and one that I am looking forward to in the future.“
It has not been entirely plain sailing for Rice. He was taken off at half-time by manager Manuel Pellegrini on the opening day of the season in a 4-0 thrashing at Liverpool.
But, both Rice and West Ham’s displays have improved steadily as the campaign has worn on and the midfielder says he is all smiles now.
„Last year I made some mistakes but I have bounced back from that,“ Rice said. „I got subbed at Liverpool, knowing I had to work harder to get back in the team.
„But I have found my place in the team, the manager has shown a lot of belief and trust in me. I am really grateful to him for that.
„I am loving it, I am really enjoying it. Last year was tough because I was in and out of the side and the start of this season was tough.
„I am playing with a smile on my face, which is the main thing.“
Soccer Accumulator Bonus
Our fantastic Euro Soccer accumulator offer gives you the chance to earn a bonus of up to 100% on accumulators on the top domestic leagues in Europe along with the group and knockout stages of the Champions League.
This offer applies to returns on pre-match accumulators of 3 or more selections on Full Time Result or Result/Both Teams To Score markets for the English Premier League, Italian Serie A, Spanish Primera Liga, German Bundesliga 1 or UEFA Champions League.
The maximum bonus that you can receive is ˆ100,000 or currency equivalent. The bonus will not apply where a stake has been fully Cashed Out. Where a stake has been partially Cashed Out, the bonus will be calculated based .on the remaining active stake. If a qualifying bet is edited .using our Edit Bet feature. The bonus will be calculated based on the new stake. Where a bet has been edited to include or amend a selection for an event that is In-Play, the bonus will no longer apply. Double Chance bets or combination bets with bonuses. Such as Lucky 15’s or Lucky .31’s do not apply for this offer.
If your bet is successful, we will add the following bonuses to your returns:
Bet Type Bonus
14-folds and upwards 100% bonus
Terms and Conditions
Applies to straight pre-match accumulator bets on the Full Time Result or Result/Both Teams To Score markets for UEFA Champions League, English Premier League, Italian Serie A, Spanish Primera Liga, German Bundesliga .1 or Australian A-League matches. Maximum bonus ˆ100,000 or currency equivalent. Soccer Accumulator Bonus does not apply to Double Chance bets or combination. bets with bonuses such as Lucky 15’s, Lucky 31’s etc.
If any selections are postponed/void then the bonus will still apply, but the percentage bonus added will reflect the actual number of winning selections. For example, an 8-fold accumulator with 7. winners and 1 postponed match will receive a 30% .bonus to returns.
The bonus part of your returns will be added to your account within 24 hours of your final selection having played.
This bonus will not apply where a stake has been fully Cashed Out. Where a stake has been partially Cashed Out, the bonus will be calculated based on the remaining active stake.
If a qualifying bet is edited using our Edit Bet feature, the bonus will be calculated based on the new stake. Where a bet has been edited to include or amend a selection for an event that is In-Play, the bonus will no longer apply.
Where any term of the offer or promotion is breached or there is any evidence of a series of bets placed by a customer or group of customers, which due to a deposit bonus, enhanced payments, free bets, risk free bets or any other promotional offer results in guaranteed customer profits irrespective of the outcome, whether individually or as part of a group, bet365 reserves the right to reclaim the bonus element of such offers and in their absolute discretion either settle bets at the correct odds, void the free and risk free. bets or void any bet funded by the deposit bonus.
In addition bet365 .reserve the right to levy an administration charge on the customer up to the value of the deposit bonus, free bet, risk free bet or additional payment to cover administrative costs. We further reserve the right to ask any customer to provide sufficient documentation for us to be satisfied in our absolute discretion as to the customer’s identity prior to us crediting any bonus, free bet, risk free bet or offer to their account.
All bet365 offers are intended for recreational players and bet365 may in its sole discretion limit the eligibility of customers to participate in all or part of any promotion.
bet365 reserves the right to amend, cancel, reclaim or refuse any promotion at its own discretion.
