West Ham United captain Declan Rice has said that England will be a better side for the experience of losing to France in the 2022 World Cup quarter-finals.
Gareth Southgate's side exited the competiton on Saturday night after a narrow 2-1 defeat to 2018 World Cup winners France. Following Aurelien Tchouameni's first half stunner, England captain Harry Kane levelled the tie with a second half penalty. Olivier Giroud put France back ahead with a header, with Kane then getting another penalty, but smashed it over the bar, leading to England exiting at the last eight stage.
In the tournament, West Ham midfielder Rice started all five matches for his country, taking his total of caps to 39 at senior level, playing 418 of his country's 450 minutes at the World Cup in Qatar.
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Following the heartbreaking nature of Rice and England's World Cup exit, Rice has posted a message to England fans, thanking them for their support in recent weeks. He also says that the experience of losing narrowly to the defending world champions will only help the Three Lions in the long run.
"The greater the talent, the greater the aim," said Rice. "The greater the aim, the greater the pain along the path to reaching it.
"This is all part of the journey to us being successful as a team. Thank you to everyone for your incredible support. We gave it absolutely everything."
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