England star Declan Rice praises Liverpool target for his performance in 2-1 win over Italy

England midfielder Declan Rice has praised compatriot and reported Liverpool target Jude Bellingham for his performance against Italy on Thursday (March 23).

The Three Lions beat the Azzurri 2-1 at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona in their UEFA Euro 2024 qualifiers opener. Rice opened the scoring in the 13th minute before Harry Kane's penalty a minute before half-time put them two goals to the good.By scoring from the spot, Kane became his country's all-time leading scorer in men's football, surpassing Wayne Rooney (53).

Italy bounced back, scoring through debutant Mateo Retegui in the 56th minute. Luke Shaw was then sent off with ten minutes remaining for two bookable offences in as many minutes to leave England in a pickle. However, Gareth Southgate's team held on to pick up their first win over Italy in Italy since 1961.

After the game, Bellingham, who started in midfield alongside Rice and Kalvin Phillips, put out an Instagram post, captioning it:

"Historic win. Congrats to the skipper (Kane), unbelievable achievement! 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿"

West Ham United captain Rice commented this on the post (via @subhankarjourno on Twitter):

"no words needed ⭐"

Both Bellingham and Rice notably enjoyed excellent outings for England against Italy.

Bellingham laid out one key pass and completed all three of his dribble attempts and won eight of his 11 ground duels. He also won four fouls and made a tackle. Rice, meanwhile, completed 86% of his passes and also recorded four tackles, a clearance and an interception, apart from scoring the opener.

Both players are expected to start for England in their next qualifier at the Wembley against Ukraine on Sunday (March 26).

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Liverpool could struggle to sign England star Jude Bellingham

Liverpool's keenness to sign Jude Bellingham has been a recurring theme in transfer speculation involving the club for some time now. However, a recent report has suggested that the Reds could miss out on their target.

The Athletic's transfer news specialist David Ornstein reported earlier this week that Liverpool are 'increasingly unlikely' to sign Bellingham this summer. He added that the reigning FA Cup holders feel Real Madrid and Manchester City are in a better position to sign the Englishman.

Ornstein also said that Borussia Dortmund do not intend to sell the youngster, who has a contract running till 2025, this summer. Since joining them in 2020, he has made 124 appearances across competitions, scoring 20 goals and laying out 24 assists, winning the DFB-Pokal in his debut season.

Ornstein did mention, though, that it does not mean Liverpool's pursuit of Bellingham is over.