Jack Grealish the game-changer: four times midfielder has shone for England

England rescued a late point in their Nations League match in Germany on Tuesday night (8 June) as Harry Kane scored his 50th senior international goal from the penalty spot to cancel out Jonas Hofmann’s opener.

Germany looked good for victory before Kane won and scored the spot-kick which earned a 1-1 draw and prevented England from slipping to back-to-back defeats in Group A3 in what was a largely lacklustre display from Gareth Southgate’s side.

Southgate has made no secret of the fact that he is using these Nations League games as opportunities to prepare for the World Cup in the winter and experiment a little with his squad, but the England boss gave a strong indication last night of what he thinks his strongest team is ahead of Qatar.

England lined-up against Germany at the Allianz Arena with a similar starting eleven to the one Southgate used throughtout Euro 2020, with a front-three of Bukayo Saka, Raheem Sterling and Mason Mount playing just behind the captain Harry Kane.

If he was fit, then Phil Foden might have started ahead of Saka or Mount, but the team Southgate picked for Tuesday night’s clash in Munich appeared to be close to what he believes is his strongest eleven - but there was no place in the starting line-up once again for the former Villa skipper Jack Grealish.

Grealish became the most expensive British footballer of all time following his £100 million pound move to Premier League champions Manchester City from Villa Park after the European Championships with England last summer.

Despite going on to win the Premier League, Grealish’s debut season at the Etihad has been a mixed one, as he found himself in and out of the starting line-up for much of the season.

But the Birmingham-born playmaker helped to change the game for England on Tuesday night, with Southgate’s side looking much more dangerous when Grealish replaced Mount with 20 minuts remaining.

The City forward caused the German defence a number of problems late on, and produced a brilliant cross for Harry Kane, whose resulting effort was well saved by Manuel Neuer.

Southgate’s more conservative approach has undeniably made England harder to beat, but there’s also no denying that England often look much more threatening going forward when Grealish is on the pitch and allowed to express himself from the left-wing.

Grealish’s performance in Munich has resulted in calls from fans for him to start England’s next Nations League fixture against Italy on Saturday (11 June).

With that in mind, here’s four times the former Villa man has shone in an England shirt.

1. Belgium, 2020

England’s hopes of qualifying for the 2021 Nations League were ended during there 2-0 defeat in Belgium in 2020.

But this was Jack Grealish’s first stand-out performance in an England shirt, and what a performance it was.

England were without Raheem Sterling, which gave Grealish the opportunity to to shine against a world class opponent.

He emerged as England’s best performer on the night, drawing a succession of fouls from Belgium and he also produced an audacious bit of skill to turn his man on the half-way line.

2. Czech Republic, Euro 2020

Gareth Southgate had resisted the public clamour for Grealish to start England’s opening two group stage matches at Euro 2020, but he was picked from the start in his country’s final group game as England looked to seal qualification to the knockout rounds.

It didn’t take long for the then Villa captain to make his mark on the tournament, producing a brilliant run and cross for Raheem Sterling to head home for the only goal of the game to secure England’s place as group winners.

3. Germany, Euro 2020

For many England players, this was the biggest game of their careers.

England hadn’t beat their rivals in a knockout tie for more than 55 years, and this was a tight, tense encounter which proved to be one of England’s greatest days at Wembley.

As the game headed towards extra-time, Southgate brought Grealish on and he instantly helped to turn the tide in the Three Lions’ favour.

His pass to Luke Shaw resulted in the game’s opening goal through Raheem Sterling in the 75th minute, and he then produced the assist for Harry Kane’s 86th minute header as England progressed to the quarter-finals.

Southgate’s side once again looked much more threatening with Grealish on the field.

4. Germany, 2022

There were similarities between England’s performance against the Germans last year, and last night (7 June).

Hansi Flick’s side were impressive and started to dominate the ball in the second half, taking the lead in the 50th minute through Hofmann’s strike.

Once Grealish replaced Mount with 20 minutes to go, the away side looked much more of a threat and caused the German defence problems for the first time in the game.

Grealish’s movement and eye for a pass created two brilliant opportunities for Kane, before the England skipper converted from the spot late on to salvage a point for Southgate’s side.

It was another impressive England performace from Grealish, and if he continues to change games for England in this way against top-class opponents, then Southgate will have an even bigger selection headache once he lands in Qatar in five months’ time.

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