Jack Grealish has been speaking about the 1-0 win over the Czech Republic within England’s EURO 2020 training base.
What did he say?
Specifically, the Aston Villa captain discussed his role in Raheem Sterling’s winner on Tuesday night, and mentioned West Ham’s Vladimír Coufal.
Grealish claims that he heard Coufal shout ‘right foot’ after Harry Kane headed the ball into his path, sending a warning to his teammates.
The £5.4m West Ham man clearly felt Grealish was going to cut inside onto his right, so the 25-year-old said he mixed things up a bit.
Aston Villa’s No.10 told England’s YouTube: “As I first received the ball he’s said ‘right foot!’ to the guy.
“He’s obviously thought I’m going to come in on my right or try and shoot – which I probably would have – so as he’s said that I just thought ‘No I’m going to go down the line (on my left) and just stand it up to the back post and hopefully someone’s there.”
Coufal was then made to look a bit silly, as Grealish assisted Sterling using his weaker left foot.
Not very smart from Vladimír Coufal
Shouting ‘right foot’ when a player of Grealish’s quality is around wasn’t the smartest thing to do.
Grealish is a player who possesses real speed of thought.
He was always going to be able to think quickly after hearing what Coufal said.
Additionally, if the 28-year-old wanted to convey his message effectively, perhaps it would’ve been better to say it in his native language!
Clearly, Coufal wasn’t thinking as clearly as Grealish was.
Luckily for Gareth Southgate, he has top-level footballers who can think this quickly on their feet while playing on the biggest stage.
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