Rafael van der Vaart on changing his mind about Rice and why Palmer's World Cup omission makes no sense

Former Dutch international Rafael van der Vaart has admitted he was wrong about Declan Rice while also questioning England manager Thomas Tuchel's decision to leave Cole Palmer out of his World Cup squad.

The former Tottenham Hotspur midfielder, who earned 109 caps for the Netherlands, gave his verdict on England's squad for the World Cup, highlighting the players he believes are overrated and the ones who have completely changed his opinion.

Eze and Madueke labelled overrated

Tuchel's squad selection has sparked plenty of debate and van der Vaart has not held back with his assessment of some of England's attacking options. The Dutchman believes Eberechi Eze and Noni Madueke have not done enough to justify their places in the squad, suggesting they have benefited from Arsenal's strong season rather than being selected on their own merit.

“A few years ago I would have said that Declan Rice is overrated, but when I am watching the squad I think Eze and Madueke are overrated. Madueke is not playing for Arsenal and Eze is only playing sometimes. I think they are just a bit overrated. I mean, Madueke is still a good player, I also know him very well from when he played at PSV.”

“But this season hasn`t been good for them, but because Arsenal as a team has been playing well, they were also performing in some way.”

Palmer World Cup omission makes no sense

While Eze and Madueke made the cut, several high-profile names were left at home. Among them was Cole Palmer, a decision van der Vaart simply cannot understand.

“But England has an amazing squad, the only thing I just really don`t understand is that Cole Palmer wasn`t selected. He is for me still one of the biggest talents at the moment. That is a very strange choice.”

Palmer may not have reached the heights of previous campaigns, but his ability to create and decide games has still made him one of the most exciting attacking players in the Premier League. According to van der Vaart, his reputation extends well beyond England.

“Cole Palmer is just a fantastic player and actually also in the Netherlands we talk a lot about his potential. He makes the difference for Chelsea every time and then when you see the squad, you are thinking to yourself, why is he not there?”

“For me, that is simply not an understandable decision. The decision is very strange in my opinion.”

England will kickstart their World Cup campaign against Croatia on June 17th, and if you believe Tuchel is making the right moves with this squad, you can back them to win by using our bet365 bonus code.

Rice's remarkable evolution

While van der Vaart has questions about Palmer's omission, he had nothing but praise for Declan Rice, admitting the Arsenal midfielder has impressed him. The Dutchman revealed that he initially viewed Rice as a limited midfielder, but believes the England international has developed into one of the best players in the world in his position.

“I have to say that in the beginning of Declan Rice`s career I didn’t like him at all. In my opinion, he was just a really simple midfielder playing the ball sideways from left to right. He was not really going forward.”

“But at the moment he has totally proved me wrong. I think he has proved that he is the most all-around midfielder in the world. I really enjoy watching him. I really like his positivity, the way he speaks to his teammates and how he motivates them.”

For van der Vaart, Rice's development goes beyond his technical qualities. It is his mentality, leadership and influence on those around him that stand out most. To explain what he sees in Rice, van der Vaart drew a comparison with a former teammate from his time at Tottenham.

“He reminds me a bit of Scott Parker who I played with at Tottenham. They have a very similar mentality. They are both just very good guys who give everything. Rice is always there for his teammates. He is a great player to watch.”

Read more as we take a look at the most negative fanbases in the Premier League last season