Jack Grealish knows he must continue to improve for Manchester City and England to put “one of the worst summers of my life” behind him.
Following his surprise absence from England’s Euro 2024 squad, Grealish returned to international duty and started for Lee Carsley’s first game as caretaker manager against the Republic of Ireland in Dublin.
Grealish’s history as an age-grade international with Ireland was a key ingredient in the feverish atmosphere of the UEFA National League match – an atmosphere that was punctuated by a narrative-heavy speech from Declan Rice.
Playing as a number 10 drifting out to the left, Grealish produced a determined performance and swept home a pass from Rice to make it 2-0, completing the scoring before the half-hour mark.
An injury suffered on the eve of the season meant Grealish only made his first Premier League start in Manchester City’s 3-1 win at West Ham last week and he acknowledges he still has plenty of work to do.
“I need to start playing regularly, scoring goals and that’s what I did today. I still don’t feel 100 per cent fit but I’m getting there and I’m happy,” he told ITV.
“It means a lot to me to go out and see the fans and hear them chant my name. There’s no better feeling than playing for England, especially in games like this where you know the whole nation is going to be watching you.
“It was probably one of the worst summers of my life because you can’t unsee everything that’s happening in front of you. It was tough.”
NOW IT’S GREALISH’S TURN!!
What a team goal for England as another former Irish player scores in Dublin ??? pic.twitter.com/lELDso4kzY
— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) September 7, 2024
After a tournament of reactive, if largely effective, football under Gareth Southgate at Euro 2024, England dictated terms to an outclassed Ireland and looked particularly dominant before half-time.
Grealish’s ability to carry, retain and maintain possession in the final third was a key part of that and Carsley was pleased with what he saw from his Birmingham compatriot.
“He really doesn’t have anything to prove to us. You can see his quality. It will have done him a lot of good today to score another goal for England,” he told ITV.
Speaking at the post-match press conference, Carsley added: “We knew we were going to potentially have spaces in the wide areas. Jack is different to a conventional No. 10. He’s able to go into the wide areas and receive the ball, but he’s also comfortable going deeper. I try not to get too caught up in positions.”
