Gary Neville claims England are wasting Declan Rice ’s true potential and ‘power’ in a holding role and believes Gareth Southgate may need more ‘balance’ in his midfield to have a serious chance of winning Euro 2024 . Rice started in a new-look midfield three with Jude Bellingham and Trent Alexander-Arnold as the Three Lions got their campaign off to a winning start with a cagey 1-0 victory over group-stage rivals Serbia . Bellingham’s thunderous 13th-minute header proved decisive, with Southgate’s men disjointed and found wanting for large periods at Gelsenkirchen’s Arena AufSchalke.
While Harry Kane and Co will be pleased to get three points on the board , with the result putting them top of Group C, a number of Southgate’s selection calls continue to divide supporters, perhaps most notably in the middle of the park. Having omitted Kalvin Phillips and Jordan Henderson from his 26-man squad, Southgate appears to be lacking serious experience at the base of his midfield, meaning Rice has been forced to play a different role to the one he has grown used to at club level. Former Manchester United and England right-back Neville feels are ‘not getting the most out of’ of the Arsenal star and Southgate may have to rejig his midfield combination looking ahead to Denmark and the latter stages of the tournament.
‘The reality of it is you need balance and every team that I played in that won, they had great balance in the team and players that were subservient .
