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Grealish on Euros snub
Jack Grealish scored his first England goal after being snubbed from the Euro 2024 squad, which he insists motivated him.
It meant everything today. Going to the fans at the end, hearing them singing my name and stuff, there’s no better feeling than playing for England especially in games like this where you know the whole nation is watching you.
It was one of the worst summers of my life, because you can’t not see everything happening in front of you.
It was difficult, but it’s given me more motivation to bounce back.
Jack Grealish
Grealish on Ireland boos
England star Jack Grealish insists there are no hard feelings despite the boos from a section of the Republic of Ireland fans.
[The reception] Is what me and Dec [Declan Rice] expected. I said before the game, it’s different; we have nothing bad to say.
We both enjoyed our time playing here, I have a lot of Irish in my family. There’s no bad blood whatsoever from my side.
Obviously, going back to myself – I need to start playing regularly and scoring goals, and that’s what I did today.
I did that today and didn’t feel 100 per cent fit, fit, but I’m happy.”
Jack Grealish
Rice on Carsley
England star Declan Rice revealed it has been “refreshing” working under interim boss Lee Carsley but insisted there is no point in comparing him to former manager Gareth Southgate.
We scored hundreds of goals under Gareth Southgate like that. That goes under the radar, we scored some amazing goals under Gareth.
It’s been really refreshing this week working with Lee Carsley.
I’ve really enjoyed it and so have all the lads. To win today and get off to a good start was the main thing for us.
Declan Rice
England player ratings
JORDAN PICKFORD – 6
TRENT ALEXANDER-ARNOLD: – 7
MARC GUEHI – 7
HARRY MAGUIRE – 7
LEVI COLWILL – 7
DECLAN RICE – 9
KOBBIE MAINOO – 7
BUKAYO SAKA – 7
JACK GREALISH – 8
ANTHONY GORDON – 6
HARRY KANE – 6
Subs: Gibbs-White (for Grealish 77 mins) 6, Gomes (for Mainoo 77) 6, Eze (for Gordon 77 mins) 6, Bowen (for Kane 84 mins) 6, Stones (for Maguire 85) 6.
Full match report
Declan Rice and Jack Grealish rammed the Irish fans’ taunts down their throats with the first-half goals that gave England a comfortable victory.
A banner in the Irish end of Lansdowne Road proclaimed “The snakes are back” alongside pictures of the pair.
But the players who switched allegiance to the Three Lions after wearing the famous green showed why they are £100m footballers, the most expensive Englishmen of all time.
Rice was superb, scoring the first with an emphatic finish then teeing up Grealish for the second at the end of a superb move. Ireland and their fans had no answer.
England interim boss Lee Carsley had set himself up and his team for a day of mockery by mistakenly sitting in the home dugout before kick-off.
But a day that threatened to be all about that mistake, and the silly row about former Republic of Ireland international Carsley not singing the national anthem, soon turned into a take of how the snakes bit back.
Any fears that the level of excitement would be far lower than the pre-match controversy soon disappeared.
More from Dave Kidd
It was me who asked Birmingham-born Carsley that question – given his previous life as a midfielder who won 40 caps for the Republic of Ireland, now taking charge of his native country for the first time at senior level in Dublin, of all places.
But the idea that his refusal to sing a song should make him ineligible for the job of managing a football team is patent nonsense.
Like approximately half of people in an increasingly globalised society, Carsley – whose paternal grandparents were Irish – was eligible to play international sport for more than one nation.
And like most such people, he has genuine allegiance to both countries, complicating matters such as anthems.
Carsley had never previously sung either, as an Ireland player or as England’s Under-21 boss.
His claim that it was all a matter of focusing on the match ahead didn’t sound entirely convincing but the whole farago was soon reduced to storm-in-a-teacup proportions as soon as his England started playing with purpose and verve.
Carsley is clearly a gifted coach, who led the Under-21s to glory at last year’s European Championships without conceding a goal, and already has the seniors purring with positivity.
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