Jack Grealish admitted there was no bad blood in his side after both he and Declan Rice received a hostile reception against the Republic of Ireland on Saturday.
Grealish returned to an England shirt for the first time after being left out of the squad for Euro 2024 and thrived in the number ten role given to caretaker manager Lee Carsley.
The Manchester City man and Rice were met with hostile receptions on their return to Ireland, with the Arsenal star winning three caps for the country before switching allegiances, while Grealish represented the country up until under-21 before switching allegiances.
Grealish in reception and tough summer
It was a hostile crowd that greeted England and Rice and Grealish in particular, with a rather nasty sign directed at the pair seen in the crowd.
However, as is often the case with football, it has a way of writing its own scripts, with Rice opening the scoring and then not celebrating before taking on Grealish, who doubled the lead by ‘England and didn’t think twice about celebrating.
It was a good performance from England, who played some good free-flowing attacking football, although they fell apart in the second half.
Speaking after the game, Grealish admitted he was looking forward to the reception and had enjoyed his time playing for the Republic of Ireland.
“It was what me and Declan expected. We’ve got nothing bad to say, we’ve both enjoyed our time (playing for Ireland). Of course I did and I’ve got a lot of Irish in my family so there’s no no bad blood on my side,” he said. ITV Sport
Grealish was more open when talking about his return to England and described this summer as one of the worst of his life.
“Going to the fans at the end and hearing them sing my name, listen, there’s no better feeling than playing for England, everyone will say the same, especially in games like this when you know the whole nation will be watching.” he added.
“In the summer, it was one of the worst summers of my life because you can’t help but see everything that’s happening in front of you. It was tough, but it’s given me something to bounce back from.”
Next up for England is a game against Finland at Wembley on Tuesday evening before the Premier League returns next weekend.
