“I went up to his dad and told him ‘I love your son!’” – Jack Grealish labels one England teammate as the ‘nicest’ among their FIFA World Cup squad
Manchester City winger Jack Grealish has named international teammate Bukayo Saka as the nicest player in England's 2022 FIFA World Cup squad.
In a candid interview with pundit Gabriel Agbonlahor, Grealish talked a fair bit about his Three Lions teammates. One of them was Saka. Grealish was asked to name the English teammate he’d like to be with the most if he were stuck on a desert island with just a Boombox.
After initially naming James Maddison and Declan Rice, Grealish raved about his admiration for Saka and shed light on an incident with the 21-year-old's father. He told talkSPORT:
"Saka is the best kid actually. I went up to his dad and told him ‘I love your son!’ He’s the nicest kid ever but he’s got a little bit of banter as well. He’s funny, man."
What A Feeling 🤩 https://t.co/uHJmdWlSF4
Grealish then chose the Arsenal winger as his answer to the original question because he'd make him laugh. He added:
"He’s laid back but when he’s on the training pitch he’s on it. Off it he’s quite laid back and chilled. Do you know what, I’m going Saks. I don’t know about his music but he’d make me laugh."
Both Grealish and Saka are expected to feature for England when they take on Wales on November 29 in the final 2022 FIFA World Cup group game.
The latter started in the Three Lions' 6-2 win against IR Iran and the 0-0 draw against the USA earlier in the competition. Saka scored twice in the opening group game, where Grealish also got his name on the scoresheet after coming on as a substitute.
The Manchester City man also came on with 22 minutes left on the clock against the USA. However, neither he nor Saka made an impact on the game.
Marcus Rashford won't shy away from taking a penalty for England at 2022 FIFA World Cup
Bukayo Saka has enjoyed a solid tournament for England so far at the 2022 FIFA World Cup. His performance against Iran drew him plenty of praise, especially after the disappointment he faced at UEFA Euro 2020 last summer.
Saka, alongside Marcus Rashford and Jadon Sancho, missed their spot-kicks in the Euros final against Italy. The game finished 1-1 after 120 minutes and the trio were substituted into the match by Gareth Southgate with an eye on the shootout.
However, things went south quickly, with the players also being subjected to racial abuse online.
England players Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho and Bukayo Saka faced an onslaught of racist abuse online after they missed penalties in the Euro 2020 final against Italy https://t.co/RDrSMLUBqR
While Sancho missed out on England's World Cup squad, Saka and Rashford, who also scored against Iran, seem to have put their penalty misses behind them. This was evident when Rashford was recently asked if he would step up to the plate if asked to take a penalty at the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
The Manchester United forward told reporters (h/t 10News):
"As an individual, I’ve always been comfortable and I enjoy being in big moments. I’m hoping that we get to take another penalty in the tournament. I’m looking forward to it."
It will be interesting to see if Rashford starts England's final group-stage encounter against Wales, with the team on the cusp of qualifying for the knockouts.