Grealish earns rave reviews despite England’s slump

LONDON: Jack Grealish’s promising performance for England was a rare bright spot as Gareth Southgate’s side’s slumped to a 2-0 defeat by Belgium in Sunday’s Nations League clash which ended their chances of progressing to the knockout stage.

The 25-year-old midfielder’s display showed a wider audience why his Aston Villa boss Dean Smith said he would build a side round him after he signed a new contract prior to this season.

The praise for Grealish was a useful distraction as England suffered back-to-back competitive defeats for the first time since September 2018, posing further question marks over Southgate’s change of formation.

The coach’s switch from a 4-3-3 formation that saw the Three Lions score 37 goals in eight games in qualifying for Euro 2020, to a 5-2-3 has reaped just three goals in five Nations League games.

Southgate eulogised about Grealish after he started for the first time in a competitive match.

“I just thought he was outstanding and he should be delighted with the way he played,” said Southgate.

“Today was a great game to see him at that level and I couldn’t speak highly enough of his performance.”

Former Tottenham Hotspur defender Graham Roberts said Grealish’s performance reminded him of his former team-mate Paul Gascoigne. Another former Spurs star, Gary Lineker, tweeted “I love watching Jack Grealish, such a delightful footballer.”

Grealish’s performance attracted praise too from abroad with Monaco’s former Arsenal star Cesc Fabregas purring in a tweet : “Great personality Jack Grealish (with an applause icon).”