Declan Rice recalls 'unbelievable' moment that left him blown away by Liverpool defender

Declan Rice has hailed the mentality of Joe Gomez and recalled an incident at England's Euro 2024 training base that left him in awe of the Liverpool defender.

Gomez was named in the Three Lions' 26-man squad for this summer's European Championship finals in Germany but was an unused substitute in Sunday's Group C opener against Serbia.

A lack of match action hasn't stopped the Reds defender from impressing his team-mates though, as midfielder Rice recalled a moment from this week's camp in Germany that left him marvelling at Gomez and his 'unbelievable' mentality.

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Speaking to England's media channels, Arsenal and England midfielder Rice said: "Joe Gomez, the mentality of his brain and how it works. He won't let anything defeat him.

"[We were] in the sauna and someone said to him, 'I'm just going to stay in here for longer' and he's like, 'Nah, I am.' Do you remember the Tyson Fury story with Wladimir Klitschko, and he was like, 'I was never leaving first.' Joe just sat there for ages, it was so hot and just sat there and I looked at him and thought, 'Yeah, this guy is built different.'

"It is really, really impressive. Not a lot of people have that built within them but what he's got and what he's been through with his injuries and stuff. That's what I noticed about him, his mentality is unbelievable."

Prior to his inclusion in this summer's Euro squad, Gomez had yet to represent England at a major tournament due to sustaining serious foot and knee injuries in 2018 and 2021.

However, the 27-year-old was handed a recall to the Three Lions' squad back in March after an impressive season operating across the back four for Liverpool.