Jack Grealish marked his first competitive start for England with a top-class individual display, but the Three Lions fell to a 2-0 defeat to Belgium in Leuven.
The Aston Villa captain started on the left of a front-three and even though goals from Youri Tielemans and Dries Mertens secured victory for the hosts, Grealish’s display received rave reviews from some of the biggest names in football.
World Cup-winning midfielder Cesc Fàbregas led the plaudits on Twitter, with former Villans Ian Taylor and Darren Bent also praising his performance.
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Asked if there were positives for England on the night, Ashley Cole responded: “Yes, Jack Grealish.”
After the full-time whistle, Grealish joined Sky Sports to reflect…
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Tyrone Mings also played the full 90 minutes and put in a solid display, but defeat means that Gareth Southgate’s side can no longer qualify for the UEFA Nations League finals.
John McGinn was also in action on Sunday as he captained Scotland for the second time.
The Villa midfielder has been in fine form this season and he helped his nation to qualify for UEFA Euro 2020 last week, but a first-half strike from Jan Gregus was enough for Slovakia to take all three points.
Steve Clarke’s side remain top of their group and they will look to secure promotion against Israel on Wednesday night.
Conor Hourihane appeared as a second-half substitute for the Republic of Ireland but couldn’t prevent a 1-0 defeat away to Wales.
David Brooks scored the only goal of the game just after the hour-mark, with Hourihane coming on for the final 14 minutes at the Cardiff City Stadium.
