Roy Keane told ITV (07/07/21 at 11:00 pm) that Gareth Southgate showed his ‘nasty’ side after Aston Villa’s Jack Grealish was subbed as a substitute during England’s win against Denmark.
The Three Lions beat Denmark 2-1 in extra time – and after Harry Kane had put his country back into the lead, Grealish was hauled off despite only being on the pitch for over half an hour.
It was a ruthless call by Southgate, as he opted to go more defensive and hold onto the lead England had because there was very little time remaining on the clock.
Keane claimed that the call for Grealish to be brought off wasn’t a surprise to him.
“He is a nice guy but you have to be nasty to work at this level,” said Keane. “It was no surprise when Gareth made that decision.
“Jack will have to look at the bigger picture. It’s all about the team getting to the final.
“There’s no doubt that Gareth is nasty enough to make those decisions and we saw it tonight.”
Well, Grealish won’t be the first to be hauled off as a sub and he won’t be the last.
But not many have been taken off in such a big game like that and it’s slightly unfair that this so-called lazy brush is being tarnished on Grealish.
In Villa colours, he has shown time and time again that he has a brilliant work rate and he can be trusted without the ball.
However, Southgate is the one making the big calls and England are in a final, so not many can complain.
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