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Declan Rice is ready to play "dirty" against "fantastic player" Frenkie de Jong to help England overcome Netherlands in the semifinals of the League of Nations. The West Ham midfielder has identified De Jong as a major threat to England's chances at Estadio Dom Afonso in Guimaraes.
De Jong, who will join Barcelona for next season after accepting a move worth € 86 million in January, was a key member of Ajax who reached the semi-finals of the Champions League and his accomplished performances showed why the Blaugrana clbadify him so high. Rice hopes for his third appearance for the Three Lions and is ready for a physical battle with the 22-year-old.
"He's a fantastic player," Rice told reporters. "I'm delighted to be able to confront him. "You can not give him too much respect on the field because it's at that point that he starts dictating the match."You must be dirty, face in the face and try to prevent him from playing his game. I am sure that as a team we will do well to stop the Dutch.
"It will be, if I'm involved, the biggest game of my life. We are in the semi-final against a big team. "
Rice won three senior team selections for the Republic of Ireland before writing to FIFA in February to request the transfer of her registration to England, a decision that he admitted to the United States. "extremely difficult" time. Four months later, he said, the media consequences of the pbadage of allegiances has not harmed his season at West Ham nor his preparations for the international match with England.
"Most people would have thought that it was difficult to take, with a lot of papers in Ireland writing about me and Irish players talking about me ", Rice said. "But it's always going to end and I'm so laid-back that I do not really care about that." I'm just focused on what I have to do for the club and the country. I had to be strong mentally and I have been since my childhood. "
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