England forward Jack Grealish marked his World Cup strike with a heartwarming celebration dedicated to a young Manchester City fan.
The former Aston Villa man climbed off the bench late on during the Three Lions' opener against Iran in Qatar and enjoyed a dream World Cup debut. After Callum Wilson had raced beyond the Iranian defence, the Newcastle forward squared to Grealish who had the simple task of tapping home England's sixth in an emphatic victory.
After finding the net, the 27-year-old wheeled away in celebration and thanked Wilson for his assist. He then broke into a little jig with his arms outstretched to his side in what was a slight departure away from his regular celebration.
There was a lovely reason behind the celebration though with young Man City fan Finlay having first suggested the idea. The 11-year-old was given the chance to meet his favourite player earlier this year after writing a heartfelt message to the winger as part of the Premier League's 'Fan Mail' initiative.
Away from meeting his hero, Finlay also received a signed Man City shirt with Grealish having said he had been left smiling from 'start to finish' by the letter. The youngster was also given the opportunity to select the forward's next goal celebration.
Initially, he selected the worm - an idea that Grealish was not exactly on board with. The two then had a little bit of negotiation before the Man City man finally agreed to do the dance that was on show against Iran.
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It was Grealish's first chance to use the celebration having only scored one goal for his club so far this season - that coming all the way back in September in a 3-0 victory against Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Finlay will no doubt have been delighted to see his hero emulate his celebration on the world stage - although whether he will have seen the game considering he will have been at school remains to be seen.
Speaking after Grealish had found the back of the net, Micah Richards was full of praise for the Man City star. Analysing his strike for the BBC, he said: "I'm so happy because all his time at Man City everyone's talking about 'he's not getting his goals or assists' and you have to give credit to Wilson but the composure just to hold your run and finish it.
"And also make an impact and the desire. I'm so happy he's been given a chance and he's scored."
Grealish will hope to get another chance to impress later in the week as England take on the USA in their second group fixture on Friday.
