[ad_1]
Jack Grealish will be able to handle the rising expectations that his exciting performances for England have placed on him, believes Gareth Southgate.
The 25-year-old has played just four times for his country, but his man-of-the-match display in last week’s 3-0 win over the Republic of Ireland, as well as his strong performance, even in defeat, in Belgium three days later, they have done nothing to curb the comparisons between him and one of England’s best creative midfielders, Paul Gascoigne.
Grealish has also had an impressive performance with Aston Villa this season, recording five goals and six assists in eight games, helping the club climb to sixth place in the Premier League.
However, Southgate is not concerned with how Grealish will deal with the added weight on his shoulders, saying: “We are going to succeed or fail as a team and it’s for everyone to contribute.
3:33
Stephen Warnock analyzes Jack Grealish’s performance against Belgium and believes he opted for regular starts
“One of the things we’ve tried to ensure, for the last four years, is that it’s a collective expectation. We couldn’t pressure Harry Kane, Raheem (Sterling), other players … we have to make sure it’s the same with Jack .
Wednesday, November 18 7:00 pm
Starts at 7:45 pm
“He has gotten off to a great start to his international career. I think he will be able to handle attention because he is a player who thrives under that pressure. He has great courage with the ball, so I don’t think that will disturb him.” .
“But equally, it will be the squad that will bring us success as a group.”
1:12
Jack Grealish is not resting on his laurels after being praised by England manager Gareth Southgate, saying there are ‘world-class’ players playing in his position.
Southgate defends Belgium’s defeat of the system
England host Iceland in their final Nations League game on Wednesday night – live Sky Sports Main Event starting at 7pm, and they will look to bounce back from their disappointing defeat in Belgium on Sunday.
Despite another solid performance from Grealish, much of the reaction to England’s defeat centered on Southgate’s continued use of a three-man defense and whether he helps bring out the best in the team’s attacking players.
Some have suggested Southgate should revert to a four-man defense, like the one he used in one of his biggest victories as England manager, when they beat Spain 3-2 in Seville two years ago, but he has defended his tactical decisions. .
He said: “I think it was very exciting to see him against Ireland. I think it was very exciting to see him against Belgium. Our job is to analyze the games during and after and we look at the data.
“That’s [away to Belgium] a performance as good as we have had against any of the great nations. The interesting thing is that there is a perception that we did not start the game well: in the first half hour, we had more goal attempts than Belgium.
“Once they were up front maybe they sat back a little bit, but I think that’s partly because we pushed really well and they couldn’t get out.”
2:00
Jamie Redknapp and Ashley Cole discuss England’s teaming and teaming problems after Belgium smashed their Nations League hopes
“That performance was a contract with Spain, what everyone is talking about, that was our worst performance statistically.
“There were other things that we did brilliantly that night: we played with great effort and we counterattacked very well. But the perception of that game is not reality.”
“If you perform at those levels every week, you will lose games. If you perform at the levels we did against Belgium, we will win games.”
5:19
Highlights from the Nations League Group A2 match between Belgium and England
Our XI Euros from England, now choose yours!
With England’s hopes of qualifying from their Nations League group over, the focus is now on next summer’s Euro 2020 tournament and who becomes Southgate’s best XI.
Our team of writers have chosen their strongest English teams for the competition. Rashford start? Is it a five or four man defense? And where can Southgate get Grealish?
See who they’ve picked and why here, then use our team selector to pick your best England XI.
[ad_2]
