'He was screaming': Why Declan Rice was really annoyed with £30m England teammate vs Denmark

Arsenal star Declan Rice and Everton’s Jordan Pickford had an argument on the pitch during England’s draw against Denmark.

After winning their first game at Euro 2024, the Three Lions were held to a 1-1 draw by the Danes in what was a really underwhelming game to watch.

Gareth Southgate’s tactics did not work, and it was just a shame to see his side sit back after scoring the first goal instead of going for a second.

Rice looked exhausted in the game on Thursday, and he was really upset with Pickford because of what he was doing during the game.

Why Declan Rice screamed at Jordan Pickford during England vs Denmark

Arsenal star Rice isn’t usually someone who loses his cool on the pitch.

The midfielder is mostly calm, but he, like the rest of us, was really frustrated with the way England were playing on Thursday.

Denmark were the better side after going behind, and England just had no answer in attack once the Danes levelled the score through a stunner from Morten Hjulmand.

Rice received no support from his fellow midfielders – he was often left alone and that made it easy for Denmark to outrun him.

That’s why the Arsenal man wanted everyone around him to calm down, take their time and build out from the back to get back into the game.

However, Pickford opted for a different approach in goal.

The £30 million (Sky Sports) Everton man wanted to go long instead of playing out from the back, and that really annoyed Rice in the middle of the park.

Gabby Agbonlahor saw him ‘screaming’ at Pickford and the two of them even had an argument on the pitch.

Speaking on talkSPORT (21 June 2024, 09:27 am): “Pickford wanted to get the ball and kick it quickly long. Declan Rice was screaming at him, saying calm down, play it short.

“You were seeing a bit of like arguing between the players as well. That’s not a good sign.”

READ MORE: Gary Neville shares brutal verdict on Declan Rice after England’s Euro 2024 draw vs Denmark

Gareth Southgate is making a key mistake that could send England home

England made it to the final of the last European Championships in 2021.

Even though they lost the final to Italy on penalties, the big positive for England was the structure they had, especially in the middle of the park.

Southgate strangely brought up Kalvin Phillips‘ name in his post-match press conference after England’s draw, and yes, that area of the pitch is the problem.

However, playing a positionally indisciplined Trent Alexander-Arnold only adds to the issue and makes Rice’s job considerably more difficult.

Southgate needs to replace Alexander-Arnold with a proper midfielder, someone who knows where to be in the middle of the park during transitions.

But, if the Three Lions boss sticks with Alexander-Arnold in midfield, we think England will come back home very, very soon.