Men's Senior

BIO

You can’t describe it. A straight smile, I just couldn’t believe it. I was just bursting with pride. It’s everything that you’ve wanted to work for as a kid and it has come true. The call-up is one of the best feelings you’re ever going to feel.

Declan declared his intention to represent the Three Lions in February 2019, having previously featured for the Republic of Ireland through their development teams and picking up three caps for their senior team in non-competitive games after breaking into the first team with West Ham United.

His performances at the London Stadium caught the eye of Gareth Southgate and his first call-up for England duly came in March 2019, when he was selected for the start of the EURO 2020 qualifying campaign.

Born in Kingston-upon-Thames in Surrey, Rice was initially on the books of his local club Chelsea from the age of seven before he switched south-west London for the east end and joined West Ham in 2014.

Starting out as a defender initially, Rice's development with the Hammers continued apace and he made his debut at the end of the 2016-17 season, before adding more appearances in the following campaign.

It was when he was moved forward into a midfield role under the charge of Manuel Pellegrini during the 2018-19 season that he really started to shine, as Rice's performances put him among the best midfielders in the Premier League, all before he had turned 20.

After a debut against Czech Republic at Wembley in March 2019, he was part of the squad who finished third at the inaugural UEFA Nations League Finals and completed a successful qualification campaign for EURO 2020.

Read more about Declan's career development in his own words.