Stuart Pearce insists he wants to see more from Declan Rice in an England shirt.
The Three Lions have booked their place in the last-16 of the World Cup after a 3-0 win over Wales secured top spot in Group B.
Rice has started all three of those matches as Gareth Southgate’s conceded just two goals and picked up seven points.
However, England legend Pearce thinks there is more to come from the West Ham midfielder.
The 23-year-old has been sitting in the defensive midfield role for the Three Lions and Pearce was asked if Rice was playing the ball sideways and backwards too often rather than driving forward.
He told talkSPORT: “In all honesty, I’ve half had those frustrations at club level. He’s got so much more in his locker. He’s got a brilliant range of passing.
“When I talk about getting teams turned, he is in a key position to get us turned and go forward with diagonal passes or forward passes through the lines.
“He’s got a great range of passing. I’ve seen it first hand for two years. I think there’s more in his locker than just breaking things up.”
He added: “I think he should do it a bit more for England. He’s got the tools to do it. The only time I see him turn and go past people is to get out of trouble.
“When he gets pressed, he surges past people. I’ve seen him do it two or three times at West Ham. More of the same please.”
There continues to be plenty of speculation over Rice’s future and seems it will be a case of when, not if, he will leave the Hammers.
Former Wales international Hal Robson-Kanu believes he must leave the east London club to reach the next level in his performances.
He said: “For Rice to do that, he has to move to a big club for me. That would then be expected of him.
“You can see by the way he plays for England he moves the ball. Don’t underestimate the difficulty in always being available and moving the ball, quickly shifting the ball.
“In terms of the opportunity to break the lines and have the confidence, and also expectation, to get the ball and have the first thought of going forwards. He is a little bit comfortable in that West Ham team and for him to go to the next level he needs to progress in terms of club level.”
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