Jack Grealish played for 25 minutes in England’s 3-0 win over Senegal on Sunday evening but didn’t have the desired impact from the bench. The 27-year-old has the trust of Gareth Southgate to be frequently introduced in the second half but isn’t always setting the place alight when brought on. He had a decent cameo against Iran and USA but could do with more time on the pitch.
Grealish would prefer to start for England but has fallen down the pecking order after struggling for consistency at Manchester City this season. Southgate prefers Buyako Saka, Raheem Sterling and Phil Foden over the 27-year-old and Grealish’s World Cup statistics probably justify the decision.
He’s made four appearances in the tournament, scoring one goal. Grealish has failed to create a chance in two of the four games, has failed to register a shot on target in his last three outings and has failed to make a successful dribble in three of the four matches.
Grealish has scored just one goal since October 2021 for England and hasn’t made an assist since March, so he didn’t come into the tournament in the best form. And for City, he’s only scored one goal without an assist from 16 games this season, so it’s no wonder Southgate has overlooked him in the starting lineup.
In other news, Ilkay Gundogan speaks out after ‘frustrating’ World Cup exit
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