The Mail have published an extensive report about England’s penalty shootout on Sunday, and they’ve shared what Jack Grealish did in the pre-shootout huddle.
Gareth Southgate got his players together before the spot-kicks began, and he’d originally had Grealish pencilled in as the eighth taker.
However, the Aston Villa star was having none of that, reportedly raising his hand to be moved up the pecking order.
Should Bukayo Saka have scored, Grealish would have been the next man up, while he would have been followed by Jordan Pickford and Kalvin Phillips.
It really is the mark of the man that Grealish wanted to be moved up the pecking order, but unfortunately, he never got the chance to try his hand from the spot after Saka’s miss.
Sadly, we’ll never know whether or not Grealish would have fared better than Saka from the spot, but the fact that he raised his hand and asked to be moved up the list shows that he was ready for the big moment.
Grealish isn’t one of the most established players in the squad, but he should be proud of the way he handled himself in the huddle before the penalty shootout as he’s shown massive courage.
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