Rice: I don't know why French spoke of Yamal like that

The Barcelona whiz was questioned by France's players before their semifinal defeat to Spain.

But England ace Rice says: "Look, I don't know why the French players tried to talk down a player the way they did, because when he has performed at Barcelona at such a young age, you have to just pay tribute to that. 

"I say that both as a fan and a player. You have to respect that. And sometimes you have to say, 'He's 16 years old. Wow, that shows some nuts'.

"It is really special what he is doing."