UEFA Nations League: Chelsea Defender Makes Undesired England Record

KEY POINTS

Chelsea’s Reece James was shown a red card in his first international start
England suffered a 1-0 loss to Denmark in their latest UEFA Nations League match
Harry Maguire was also presented a red card in the match

Chelsea's Reece James was a shining star for England in their latest UEFA Nations League matchup against Denmark at Wembley Wednesday night. However, his international debut ended on a sour note when he was shown a straight red card after the final whistle.

It is a disappointing end for the Blues star's international starting role as this puts the 20-year-old in an unwanted statistic -- the first player to be ejected in their starting lineup debut for the England national team. The infraction was due to his dissent to official Jesus Gil Marzano, Goal reported.

Despite the unfortunate ending, the young right-back played well enough to capture his teammate Declan Rice’s attention.

"Reece James looked like he'd been out here for 30-40 caps tonight," Rice told BBC’s 5Live.

"I've been with him since the Under-8s and I know he's capable of that,” Rice continued.

Throughout James’ stay with Chelsea, he’s already developed into a promising player for the Blues. He made his first-team debut in 2019 where he’s played in 40 games, netted three goals, and tallied four assists.

"He's a fantastic young player and gives us another option going forward and I don't think that sending off should affect how positively we look at his performance,” Rice added.

"Until [Maguire's] sending off happened I thought we were playing really well and using the ball really well. Reece James and Mason Mount were creating some great chances for us but we just couldn't put the ball in the back of the net," Rice shared.

The intensity of the match was already high with the earlier red card Harry Maguire received in the 31st minute of the match. It hasn’t been the smoothest of games for Maguire as former England national team player Gary Neville pointed out how it’s been tough for the 27-year-old center-back.

"Watching that Tottenham versus Manchester United game 10 days ago when obviously Harry Maguire had a bad time, you were thinking that he needed international duty just to get away, a different environment. But it has not served him well,” Neville told Sky Sports.

The team will look to bounce back from this rough situation as they face New Zealand on November 12.