Netherlands vs England: Declan Rice ready to 'fight dirty' vs Frenkie de Jong

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Giuseppe Muro4 June 2019

Declan Rice says he will get “dirty” against Frenkie de Jong and prove he belongs at the highest level when England play Netherlands on Thursday.

The West Ham midfielder, 20, is pushing to start the Uefa Nations League semi-final in Guimaraes and insists he will not show De Jong too much respect despite his status as one of the best young talents in Europe.

De Jong, 22, who will join Barcelona this summer for £65million, excelled for Ajax on their run to the Champions League semi-finals.

Rice himself is being tracked by Manchester United and City following a brilliant season and is ready to get physical against De Jong as he looks to make his own mark.

“He is a fantastic player,” said Rice. “I am relishing the chance to put myself up against him.

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“You cannot give him too much respect on the pitch because that is when he starts to dictate the game.

“You have got to be dirty, up in his face and try and disrupt him from playing his game. I am sure as a team we will do well to stop the Dutch.

“This will be, if I am involved, the biggest game of my life. We are in the semi-finals against a great side.”

Rice is fully committed to West Ham, but he has admitted one day he wants to emulate De Jong by playing in the Champions League. He knows the Netherlands game is his chance to show he can mix it against the best.

He added: “With the season I have had, most people would have seen that for a young age I have done really well. But this is another level. You are playing against world-class opposition and you need to be on your game.”

Meanwhile, Rice insists he was not affected by criticism he faced for turning his back on Ireland.

Rice, who was born in London but qualified for the Republic through his grandparents, won three senior caps for them in friendlies, but switched allegiance to England earlier this year.

He said: “Most people would have thought that was tough to take on, with loads of papers in Ireland writing about me and Irish players speaking about me.

“But it is always going to blow over and I am so laid-back, I do not really take much notice of it.

“I am just focused on what I have got to do for club and country. I have had to be mentally strong and I have been like that since I was a kid.”

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