Jack Grealish has backed England’s attack to overcome Ukraine after beating Germany and vows not to change – even now the pressure is on.
Taking a seat at a picnic table in the Staffordshire sunshine on Thursday afternoon, Jack Grealish apologises for being a little late.
One of the faces of what is threatening to be a glorious English football summer has been having an afternoon sleep.
‘I have one every day,’ he says. ‘I am not the same man without it.’
It’s perhaps as well that Grealish has his routines because a part of his life has changed for good, whether he knows it yet or not.
The 25-year-old is no longer just an England player, Aston Villa captain or even a Manchester City star in waiting. Grealish is one of the ones who was there at Wembley on Tuesday night, one of the ones who made it happen, a member of the team who beat Germany on one of the most spectacular occasions the national stadium has witnessed.
Whatever happens to this England team now — whether they make it all the way to the final or whether their journey through Euro 2020 ends in Rome against Ukraine on Saturday night — they will always be remembered for one very special night at least.
‘It will probably be talked about for a while,’ says Grealish. ‘I’ve been lucky enough to play at Wembley seven times now including FA Cup finals and play-off finals and my family said it was the best atmosphere ever.
‘I had loads of messages and it makes me so happy and proud when I hear the crowd singing my name. I want to repay that. It’s funny because I get booed every single week by these fans!
‘But here they are all giving me so much support and it’s one of the best feelings ever. It’s nice when Villa fans are doing it, but you kind of expect it because you are one of them. But when it’s England fans, it’s different.’
Grealish’s first act when returning to England’s base at St George’s Park in the early hours of Wednesday was to watch the victory over Germany again on the TV. ‘I didn’t get to sleep until 4am,’ he smiles. ‘So yeah, I just whacked the game on. Amazing, really. What a night.
‘What it means has filtered through. We knew that we were capable of doing that. I saw some people say it was an average Germany side. I don’t think it was at all. Now we have to focus on the next challenge.’
Saturday’s quarter-final will be different. England’s first game on the road, it will be challenging in a variety of ways. Grealish insists he has his game head on but equally he makes no apologies for enjoying the ride. Were he not playing for England, he would in all likelihood be doing his best to get a ticket.
‘If I wasn’t a footballer and I was just with my mates, I would be doing what they’re doing,’ he says. ‘I’d be travelling everywhere watching England, being in pubs and stuff.
‘I’d f****** love that. I’ve seen a few videos and it looks unreal. At the end of the day, I’m just a normal kid.’
‘I wasn’t meant to come back as quickly as I did but I felt I had to because everyone in my position was flying for England,’ says Grealish. ‘So I thought, ”I need to get back here and show I’m fit and back to my normal self”.
‘We have got six players who play either side of Harry Kane who, in reality, could play for most clubs in the world.
‘Myself, Jadon Sancho, Marcus Rashford, Raheem Sterling, Phil Foden and Bukayo Saka. That’s scary how good us six are. That’s not being big-headed or nothing. That is just the truth.’
It will be hot in Rome but Grealish is not particularly fazed. ‘It can’t be worse than the Croatia game at Wembley,’ he says.
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