Rice

International Round-up: Rice, Emerson and Scamacca feature in wins

Emerson, Gianluca Scamacca and Declan Rice all featured as both Italy and England recorded victories on Sunday.

Playing in the early kick-off, Rice contributed to England's second consecutive win of the March international window following a 2-0 victory over Ukraine.

After the Three Lions started their UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying campaign with a 2-1 triumph in Italy on Thursday, where Rice struck his third international goal, strikes from Harry Kane and Bukayo Saka saw England two goals ahead by the interval at Wembley Stadium.

And while there were no further additions to the scoresheet after the break, a professional England showed their class in north London to comfortably sit at the top of Group C with two wins from their first two fixtures. Rice, once again, featured for the full 90 minutes on the international stage.

Rice

Playing in a midfield three alongside Liverpool’s Jordan Henderson and Borussia Dortmund’s Jude Bellingham, Rice excelled at England’s national stadium, showing his all-round qualities across the Wembley turf.

The West Ham United’s skipper’s pass completion was 93 per cent - only Kane, with a perfect 100 per cent, bettered the No41.

Elsewhere, Emerson played 90 minutes on Sunday evening at National Stadium Ta' Qali in Malta. The full-back made his first international start since Italy’s Finalissima defeat to Argentina in June 2022.

Moving one shy of 30 appearances for Italy, Emerson saw teammate Mateo Retegui break the deadlock, before an own-goal from Malta’s Matthew Guillaumier saw Roberto Mancini’s side move into a two-goal lead by half-time.

The West Ham No33 recorded a pass completion rate of 86 per cent, winning two aerial duels and boasting three successful tackles as part of his side's 2-0 win in Malta.

Emerson's teammate for club and country, Scamacca replaced Retegui 23 minutes from time, featuring for his country from the bench as he did in the first international outing of the break against England. 

As it stands, Italy sit second in Group C with three points from their first two fixtures.

 

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