Grealish, who completed a £100million move from Aston Villa to Manchester City in the summer, was the public’s darling during Euro 2020 but wasn’t a regular under Gareth Southgate – now that looks set to change
Gareth Southgate praised Jack Grealish after bringing the £100million man into his England team for Thursday’s comfortable World Cup qualification victory in Hungary.
Despite being racially abused at the Puskas arena stands, the Three Lions held their heads high and were able to win 4-0 to continue their winning streak in Group I.
Southgate named 10 players from the team that started at Wembley, July 11, just 53 days after Italy’s penalty shootout defeat.
Grealish was the last player to join the team, and the impressive display by the Manchester City signing caught our attention.
Asked if he was happy with Grealish’s ability to create chances, the England boss replied: “Yes, absolutely.
“But also the angles of his pressing and the way he chased the ball down because that helped us to turn the ball over high up the pitch.
“We know that when he is in possession of the ball he has got that ability, to find a pass when he is on the run, and take people out of the game individually.
“So I thought his performance was very, very good.”
On a difficult night, with no travelling supporters officially among the capacity crowd, England’s pre-match taking of the knee in the now-familiar anti-racism and discrimination stance was roundly jeered.
During the second half, monkey chants could then be heard, reportedly aimed in the direction of Raheem Sterling – who opened the scoring – and substitute Jude Bellingham.
Southgate was proud of the manner his players handled the fan hostility but was equally pleased with how they overcame a team that had drawn France and Germany during the Euro 2020 group stages.
“I think we played very well, the players have really applied themselves well,” He concluded.
“Their pressing when we lost the ball was excellent right through the team and they were on the front foot, winning any balls that were played up to the opposition’s forwards so we made it difficult for them to get out and breathe in the game.
“Then in the main, we used the ball very well, a couple of times a little bit of sloppy play, but it looked like the only way they were going to score was a counter-attack or a foul conceded from a counter-attack.
“But I was really pleased with the level and the players deserve huge credit for that.”
