Lee Carsley believes Jack Grealish’s goalscoring return to the England side will have done him “the world of good”, but insists the Manchester City star has “nothing to prove” after missing out on Euro 2024.
Grealish was controversially left out of Gareth Southgate’s squad for this summer’s tournament after an underwhelming season at club level, in a move that left both the player and senior team-mates stunned.
He was instantly recalled by Carsley, who has been placed in interim charge of the side, and started at No10 in Saturday’s 2-0 victory over the Republic of Ireland in Dublin.
The 28-year-old’s strike midway through the first-half, doubling the lead given to England by Declan Rice, was his first international goal since the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, and only his third in 37 caps.
“I thought they both took their goals really well,” Carsley said. "Really well-worked moves and brilliant finishes. I think, moving forward, they can both add a lot more goals to their game.
"Jack definitely doesn't have anything to prove to us, we can see his quality, but today will have done him the world of good, getting another goal for England and hopefully he can continue that form.”
Both Grealish and Rice received hostile receptions at the Aviva Stadium having represented Ireland at youth level - and, in Rice’s case, in three senior friendlies - but were unfazed by the response.
“It was what me and Declan expected,” Grealish said. “We have nothing bad to say, we both enjoyed our time [playing for Ireland] - I certainly did and I have a lot of Irish in my family, so there's no bad blood whatsoever from my side.”
Grealish has started only one of Manchester City’s first three Premier League games of the season and will face further competition for both club and country when Phil Foden returns from illness after the international break. However, the former Aston Villa man is hoping his performance in the Irish capital can prove the start of a prolonged return to form.
"I need to start playing regularly, scoring goals, and that's what I did today,” he told ITV. “I'm still not 100% fit but I'm getting there so from a personal point of view I'm happy.
"Going to the fans at the end and hearing them sing my name, listen there's no better feeling than playing for England, everyone will say the same thing, especially in games like this when you know the whole nation is going to be watching.
"Over the summer, it was one of the worst summers of my life because you can't not see everything that is happening in front of you. It was difficult but it's given me something to bounce back."
