Jack Grealish has acknowledged that his remarkable comeback to the England team was driven by a strong desire to forget the “worst summer” of his life. 

Grealish earned his Three Lions debut after being unexpectedly left out of Gareth Southgate’s Euro 2024 roster in June. 

The Manchester City attacker scored in England’s 2-0 victory over Republic of Ireland to start their Nations League campaign. 

He acknowledged that being a part of the group once more “meant everything,” indicating that he utilised the setback as fuel to go back up. 

Grealish said to ITV Sport, when asked what the game meant to him, “Everything.” Going to the fans at the conclusion and hearing them sing my name and other things. 

Grealish made his first appearance for England since his Euros axe and got on the scoresheet 

The forward for Man City said that he used the setback as fuel to get better.

“Everyone will agree that playing for England is the greatest feeling in the world, especially in games like this where you know the entire country is watching.”

As I’ve mentioned in a previous interview, the summer was undoubtedly one of the worst of my life since you can’t see everything that’s going on in front of you. 

“It was challenging, but it has strengthened my resolve to recover.”

Having played for the Republic of Ireland in the past, Grealish was met with jeers from the home crowd at the Aviva Stadium. 

He played for Ireland’s under-17, under-18, and under-21 squads, but he declined O’Neill’s calls up to the senior squad.

Although he said in September 2015 that he will play for England, his debut was not until September 2020.

When asked if he was prepared for the negative response, Grealish replied, “Yeah, that’s what me and Dec (Rice) expected.” 

Grealish said he anticipated being jeered before the game by Republic of Ireland supporters. 

Before the game, I stated that I thought it was different. Dec and I had nothing but praise to offer. I know I had a great time playing here, but we both did. 

“There’s no bad blood in my family because there are a lot of Irish people.”