Published 30 June 2021 2 min read
England Men's Senior Team
Grealish all smiles
England's new number seven is setting the standard when it comes to enjoying football this summer
Jack Grealish couldn’t keep the smile off his face as fans cheered for his pivotal introduction into Tuesday night’s victory over Germany.
With the game still scoreless after an hour, Gareth Southgate opted to bring Grealish on to devastating effect as the Aston Villa man provided a second assist in as many games to send the Wembley crowd mad.
Grealish has become a firm fan-favourite during England’s journey to the UEFA EURO 2020 quarter-finals and was revelling in the joy of hearing his name being sung loud and proud at the national stadium.
“I loved it,” he said, speaking after the game. “It's always nice when the fans are calling your name but it's not about me, it's about the team.
"I love being talked about. It's part of the game, if you're getting talked about, you're doing something well.
“I just take it in my stride. I was delighted to hear the fans singing my name and there's nothing more I want, than to repay them with goals and assists."
Tuesday night was the perfect opportunity for Southgate to exorcise his demons, having missed a crucial penalty against Germany 25 years prior, but the England boss didn’t let the occasion get the better of him or his players.
Grealish was involved in the build up for Raheem Sterling’s opener and provided the assist for captain Harry Kane to finish things off with his first goal of the tournament five minutes from time.
And it was a familiar message from Southgate that inspired the midfielder’s impact; the same instruction to ‘express yourself.’
"He just told me to go on and express myself, to play as I usually do with a smile on my face,” said Grealish. “Luckily I played a part in the first and got the assist for the second.
“It was a good performance for myself, even though I was slipping all over the place when I came on actually! It ended well.”
England now face Ukraine in Rome on Saturday for a place in back-to-back major tournament semi-finals.
Grealish was involved in the build up for Raheem Sterling’s opener and provided the assist for captain Harry Kane to finish things off with his first goal of the tournament five minutes from time.
And it was a familiar message from Southgate that inspired the midfielder’s impact; the same instruction to ‘express yourself.’
"He just told me to go on and express myself, to play as I usually do with a smile on my face,” said Grealish. “Luckily I played a part in the first and got the assist for the second.
“It was a good performance for myself, even though I was slipping all over the place when I came on actually! It ended well.”
England now face Ukraine in Rome on Saturday for a place in back-to-back major tournament semi-finals.
England v Ukraine stats