Morgan Gibbs-White has revealed how he responded to racial abuse to help steer England to World Cup glory.
The Nottingham Forest midfielder was part of the under-17 side that achieved national acclaim after lifting the World Cup in 2017. Steve Cooper was in charge of the Young Lions, which played a key role in the 22-year-old opting to leave Wolves and join the Reds in a club record deal this summer.
England battled from 2-0 down to record an emphatic 5-2 win but Gibbs-White explained that one moment during the match inspired the team to their statement victory. The Forest man scored the equaliser for Copper’s side in the second-half, just minutes after he says he was racially abused by a Spanish player.
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“Literally, about five minutes before that (goal), I received a racial comment from one of the Spain players,” Gibbs-White told ITV Sport. “He called me a m****y. As soon as he said what he said, I knew we were going to win the game just because of the motivation everyone got from that.”
Gibbs-White was asked about the game as it was the tournament that saw England star Phil Foden rise to prominence. The Manchester City forward described his former teammate as “brave” for his defiant response on the pitch.
Forest boss Cooper is still pleased with how his young players reacted to the situation: “Have a look at how they played for the rest of that game, I was just so proud of not just winning but the way we won,” he told ITV.
The squad included Forest defender Jonathan Panzo, as well as Jadon Sancho, Emile Smith Rowe and Conor Gallagher, with the latter currently part of the England squad in Qatar. As Southgate’s side prepare to face France on Saturday, Gibbs-White is already aware of what it would feel like to win an international tournament: “We won the World Cup. It just gives you goosebumps watching it back.”
What have you made of Gibbs-White’s start at Forest? Let us know in the comments section…
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