Arsenal midfielder Declan Rice says it was “a weird feeling” to score for England against the Republic of Ireland in Saturday’s 2-0 win in Dublin.
Rice, who played three senior friendlies for the Republic before switching allegiance in 2019, silenced the jeers from the home fans after firing home in the 11th minute when Harry Kane‘s shot was blocked.
Explaining his decision not to celebrate his goal, Rice told BBC Radio 5 Live: “A lot of the Irish fans have an opinion and a feeling towards me, which is absolutely fine because I made that decision to switch as a kid.
“But you could see in my goal there’s no animosity from my side. I didn’t want to celebrate. My nan and grandad were Irish. It would have been disrespectful because obviously I played three times for Ireland and I had such an amazing time here.
“It would have been wrong of me so that’s why I chose not to. It’s nice to score but also it was a bit of a weird feeling.”
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