Declan Rice has revealed what he told Jude Bellingham in the tunnel ahead of his England World Cup debut against Iran.
Bellingham became England's second teenager to score in a World Cup after he headed Gareth Southgate’s side ahead at the Khalifa International Stadium. The Three Lions would go on to win the game 6-2 against Carlos Quieroz's side.
Arsenal star Bukayo Saka scored twice, with Raheem Sterling and substitutes Marcus Rashford and Jack Grealish also on target. And speaking post-match, Rice shared what he said to Bellingham in the tunnel.
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He said: “We have played together four or five times now. I said to him in the tunnel: ‘This is your stage, go and flourish. I’ll be there behind you to sweep up and give you the ball for you to go and do your thing.’
“I know my role in this team. I am there to stand in front of the back four, protect, get on the ball and move it around.
“I feel like we did that really well. We stuck to the game plan and, in the end, the spaces opened up. You saw the goals we scored with some really lovely play.”
As reported by the ECHO back in July, Bellingham is someone who is widely admired among the people who matter where recruitment is concerned at Liverpool. Manchester City, Chelsea and Real Madrid have also reportedly shown an interest in the midfielder.
Dortmund CEO Hans-Joachim Watzke admitted on German TV earlier this month that his club cannot offer Bellingham the same terms as the biggest European sides might.
As a result, it is likely the England international will be sold next summer if he tells them he wants to leave during talks with the club after the World Cup.
He said: “We will hold talks now, as soon as [the World Cup in] Qatar is over, and then we’ll have a fundamental talk about what he would like.
“He just needs to tell us if he’d like to stay or if he’d like to go. In both cases we’ll talk about it very pleasantly and reasonably together.
“In general we can imagine that he’d stay with us, but we can’t behave as if this topic wasn’t on the table. If he says ‘I’d like to do something else,’ then the really big [clubs] in Europe will be there and we can’t afford to fight financially.”
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