Declan Rice and Jack Grealish scored twice in the first half to help England easily beat hosts Ireland. This victory helped the "Three Lions" rise to the top of Group B2 of the UEFA Nations League 2024-2025. After the disappointment at EURO 2024, England is looking forward to another official tournament in the hope of winning a title after more than half a century of waiting.
Before kick-off, during the national anthem, Grealish and Rice were booed by the home crowd. The hatred was also directed at interim coach Lee Carsley. The reason is that all three used to play for the Irish national team but later chose to play for England to finish their careers.
After that, every time they touched the ball on the pitch, the Premier League star duo continued to receive curses and criticism from the stands. However, with their class, both Rice and Grealish did not care about that.
After scoring, Rice raised his hands as if to apologize to the hotheads cursing him above. Meanwhile, with his somewhat arrogant personality, Grealish celebrated wildly, adding fuel to the fire at that time. Irish fans even wanted to rush onto the pitch to "teach Grealish a lesson" but security intervened in time.
This match was a great day for Jack Grealish personally. After not being able to participate in EURO 2024, plus an unimpressive season just passed, the Man City midfielder is looking to prove his worth again. This time, Lee Carsley arranged his student in his favorite "number 10" position. The 28-year-old star showed confidence and continuously had moves that stirred up the opponent's defense.
Carsley's philosophy is different from Gareth Southgate's . The interim captain of the "Three Lions" shared that the England team is a very diverse group, each person will have their own skills. Therefore, we should not be limited to a few ways of playing, but should change according to each match.
When scoring and celebrating enthusiastically, Grealish may have temporarily forgotten the shock of not being called up to the squad for EURO 2024. In this training session, the England team will not have the services of Jude Bellingham, Cole Palmer and Phil Foden. Therefore, when these stars return, Jack Grealish's position will be very competitive.
However, EURO 2024 also proved that Bellingham and Foden are very difficult to arrange to play together at the top of the midfield. Carsley saw how Southgate failed and he does not want to repeat the same mistake. Therefore, the opportunity for Grealish to take the starting position is present, as long as he seizes it.
"I think Grealish and Rice are both playing well. They have good movement and good shots. I think they can both score more goals in the future.
Grealish doesn't need to prove anything to the coaching staff anymore, everyone can see his qualities. Today was a goal and hopefully Grealish will continue to maintain this form" - Lee Carsley shared after the match.
