Jack Grealish admitted the reception he and Declan Rice received in Dublin this afternoon did not surprise them.
The two scored goals when England opened their Nations League campaign by beating the Republic of Ireland 2-0 and silencing the crowd at the Aviva Stadium.
Rice appeared for Ireland in three friendlies before declaring his allegiance to England while Grealish played for the under-21s before also jumping ship.
It meant they were the target of Ireland’s hate but they ended up having the last laugh with first-half goals as Lee Carsley’s tenure as interim manager got off to a winning start.
Grealish told ITV Sport: “That’s what Declan and I were hoping for. Nothing bad to say, we both enjoyed our time [playing for Ireland]. I really did and I have a lot of Irish in my family, so there’s no bad blood on my side.”
The Manchester City midfielder was left out of former manager Gareth Southgate’s squad for Euro 2024 and is delighted to be back in the fold under Carsley.
He continued: “Going to the fans to finally hear them sing my name, listen, there is no better feeling than playing for England, everyone will say the same thing, especially in games like this when you know the whole nation will be there. to watch.
“The summer was one of the worst summers in my life because you don’t see everything that is happening in front of you. It was hard but it gave me the determination to go back.
“I have to start playing regularly, score goals, that’s what I did today. I’m not 100 percent fit yet but I’m getting there so from my point of view I’m happy.”
The work is done in Dublin.
A good start to our life #League of Nations campaign in Lee Carsley’s first game as interim coach 💪 pic.twitter.com/eklMp8SsVJ
– England (@England) September 7, 2024
England have been eliminated from Nations League Group A and are determined to bounce back and rejoin Europe’s elite.
Asked to assess England’s display, Rice said: “It’s really good. It was the manager’s first game and we got a win.
“We are in the league below where we want to be so we know how important it is to win this group. To score with Jack, it was a really good feeling too. “
Rice also had words of praise for Carsley following his first win, adding: “It’s been really refreshing this week – Lee has been amazing to work with, his meetings have been great and the training has been great.
“It was a new beginning, a change and to win for him today and for us to win first was the main thing.”
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