DECLAN RICE was the talk of Twitter after he was brutally left hanging by his England team-mates during Sunday’s 2-0 win in Albania.
Gareth Southgate’s side took a crucial first-half lead in Tirana thanks to a headed goal from Harry Kane.
But the attention quickly shifted to Rice – who had a superb game in the middle of the park.
The West Ham ace dashed over to Kane to congratulate him on his goal with England not at the races for much of the opening half an hour.
Rice stuck his hand optimistically in the air looking for a high five.
But second after agonising second ticked by with the Hammers man’s arm still raised.
Eventually Rice gave up and jogged back to his position – but not before his painful moment was spotted by hoards of fans on Twitter.
One supporter tweeted: “Declan Rice got left hanging”, complete with a series of cry-laughing emojis.
Another wrote: “They all left Rice hanging.”
A third said: “My thoughts and prayers are with Declan Rice.”
FREE BETS: GET OVER £2,000 IN SIGN UP OFFERS HERE
Mason Mount later capitalised on a second-half mistake from Albania to make it 2-0 as England continued their 100 per cent start to qualifying for the 2022 World Cup.
The Three Lions thumped San Marino 5-0 midweek and will now turn their attention to the visit of Poland on Wednesday.
But for Rice, it was yet another impressive performance as his stock continues to rise.
The in-demand star made more interceptions (five) and more clearances (three) than any other England player, while completing a staggering 97 per cent of his passes.
Rice also won 100 per cent of his aerial duels and took 126 touches.
⚽ Read our Football live blog for the very latest news from around the grounds
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
