Gareth Southgate insists Jack Grealish is "fine" despite "embarrassing" sub
Gareth Southgate insists Jack Grealish is "fine" and "understood" his decision to double-substitute him during England's Euro 2020 semi-final win over Denmark.
Southgate has guided England to their first ever European Championship final, with his side coming from behind to beat Denmark 2-1 at Wembley on Wednesday night.
After Harry Kane scored what proved the winner just before the interval in extra-time, the Three Lions boss raised eyebrows by taking off Grealish, who had only come on himself in the second half of normal time.
The Aston Villa star was substituted for defender Kieran Trippier, which ex-England manager Sam Allardyce says was a "sacrifice" to get them over the line.
And despite the humiliation of being double-substituted on what was such a big occasion at Wembley, Southgate has revealed that Grealish completely understood his thought process.
"He's fine, he understood," the England gaffer said after Wednesday night's historic triumph.
"He was terrific when he came on, he gave us momentum.
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"But we know when (Denmark have) gone behind in games they've thrown four men up front, so we needed to get an extra defender on just to make sure we were more solid and I wanted to keep Raheem's [Sterling] speed on, so it meant taking one of the two boys off who had just come on."
Grealish posted a photo on Instagram after the game of him and his England team-mates celebrating after the win, writing: "I love this team!! What a night at Wembley! One more to go."
But ex-England defender Gary Neville believes his pride will have been dented by the double-substitution.
"There's no ego in that dressing room, [Southgate] will make decisions that need to be made for the team to be careful and he puts the team first," Neville said.
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"Jack tonight has suffered and look, it's an embarrassing moment for him in the sense of being a sub who is subbed.
"But he will recognise it was the right thing for the team."
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