Despite losing an on-the-spot wager with teammate Trent Alexander-Arnold, Jack Grealish was all smiles after England’s 3-1 victory against Finland in the UEFA Nations League.
The Manchester City winger opened the scoring at the Helsinki Olympic Stadium on Sunday, but was quick to pay tribute to Alexander-Arnold’s cracking top-corner free-kick in a post-match interview, also revealing he gave the Liverpool ace some added on-field motivation.
Soccer super agent Fabrizo Romano took to X citing Grealish telling ITV that he promised the England left back: “I’ll give you 500 quid if you score this:”
Alexander Arnold sent Grealish, his teammates, and the England fans wild when he curled a free kick into the Finland goal in the 74th minute. “So I owe him now,” said Grealish, acknowledging his £500 ($653) debt.
team under pressure after a 1-2 defeat to Greece at Wembley last week
The goal put England 2-0 ahead, breathing a collective sigh of relief into a team under pressure after a 1-2 defeat to Greece at Wembley last week. Despite a late Finland goal, Grealish said England “were gutted to concede,” he admitted Lee Carsley’s team “needed a win.”
While Alexander-Arnold’s goal eased his team’s nerves, his defending left some critics in disbelief. Manchester United midfield legend Roy Keane stated “I still can’t believe how bad he is defensively. Against better teams, he’ll get found out.”
“When you give Trent time” Keane acknowledged, however, “his delivery is fantastic.”