Declan Rice tells hilarious story about Latvian goalkeeper and former West Ham team-mate nicknamed 'King Kong' ahead of England's World Cup qualifier

Rice explained to reporters that he and Matrevics had been in the West Ham academy at the same time and how the 6' 7 tall goalkeeper blew him and his team-mates away. Rice will come up against his former team-mate on Monday night when England host Latvia and knows the Three Lions will have to be clinical to seal all three points. The Arsenal midfielder was also told during his press conference that the giant shot-stopper is known as 'King Kong' in Latvia due to his size.

Ahead of the game, Rice joked: "If he starts tomorrow, you’ll see he’s about 7ft 5! He’s so tall. Honestly, I’m not lying, he’s so, so tall.

"I remember him when he came to West Ham, it was like, ‘Wow, this guy’s a beast’. And he couldn’t speak much English at the time, but by the end, it was unbelievable.

"We had a lot of free time and we’d go out for some food and go to Nando’s in Romford, because we stayed in Essex, and he’d have to duck down to get underneath the door.

"He was such a good guy. I’m really looking forward to seeing him tomorrow because it’s been a long time.”

Matrevics played for a number of sides in England before returning to Latvia. He joined the Hammers in 2015, spending three years at the academy before moving to Barnet. He then had spells with Hendon and St Albans City before returning to Latvia via Valmiera.

Rice will hope to maintain his place in the starting side against Latvia and face his former team-mate. The midfielder will want to show his new boss Thomas Tuchel that he can continue to be England's key central midfielder ahead of the World Cup next year.