Jack Grealish provides the attacking flair to unlock Czech defence but then England curse strikes

If England’s great problem in this tournament is an inability to play convincing and threatening attacking football for any length of time then it appears nobody is free from the curse.

This was a big night for England as they attempted to finish at the top of their group and provide their public with something to suggest they can yet go deep into this tournament. It was a big night for players like Jack Grealish, too.

Yet again, though, this was a night of fits and starts for Gareth Southgate’s misfiring team and the Aston Villa player fell into that category. The 25–year-old was excellent early on, seeing plenty of the ball and turning to face up Czech defenders in that familiar way of his. He then provided the cross from which Raheem Sterling scored in the 12th minute.

Jack Grealish was excellent early on, seeing plenty of the ball and turning to face up defenders

For a while it looked as we could hear the sound of jigsaw pieces falling into place. But it was not to last. As time wore on, the tempo of England’s football dropped again.

This was a night that ended with the desired result and outcome. But Grealish was on the bench by the time we reached the later stages. If this was an audition for starting berth in the last 16, then only transpired to be partially convincing.

At Villa, Grealish has relished the responsibility that comes with being the driving force of his team. Manager Dean Smith has admitted on several occasions that Villa are simply not the same without him.

With England, it has been a little different. It has taken him a while to convince Southgate of his worth. Indeed it was only 18 months ago that the England manager was suggesting quite bluntly that Grealish was at the wrong end of the long queue for a starting position.

Grealish provided the cross from which Raheem Sterling scored the winner in the 12th minute

Ultimately, Grealish has found his way into this England team on the back of the sheer weight of performances coupled with the misfortune and loss of form that has struck others. The backwards trajectory of Manchester United’s Mason Greenwood removed one obstacle prior to the tournament while Mason Mount is now out of the equation until at least the last eight. Phil Foden, meanwhile, was in the stands for this game after picking up a booking earlier in the competition.

Grealish was never likely to waste the opportunity that came here. One of the attractive things about him is that he plays football with such optimism. He is always looking forward and that was precisely what England needed after the static nature of the performance against Scotland.

Bukayo Saka was outstanding in possession on the right-hand side of the formation but the drive and go forward that he gave Southgate’s team was complimented on the other side by Grealish.

England had none of that against Scotland and very little of it beyond the first 15 minutes of the opening game against Croatia.

Here it was almost immediately different. Not everyone in a white shirt seemed to get the message. At times the full backs — particularly Kyle Walker on the right — were slow to shift the ball quickly as often as they might. But generally it was much better. Grealish managed to find possession three times in good areas in the first three minutes.

Grealish’s influence on the game waned as the tempo of England’s football dropped again

In the fifth minute, he was fouled for the first time. And then, of course, there was the goal. Saka and Grealish were both involved, which was appropriate. Saka was the player who turned and broke the Czech defensive lines, terrifying them as he did so. Then it was Grealish who did just enough to find the space to cross so beautifully on to Sterling’s head.

It was the kind of goal that Southgate would have been willing his team to score. A goal born of invention and courage and ambition. It gave England a lead they deserved.

At times the Czech Republic had more of the ball than England would have liked. They looked dangerous. Grealish did his bit defensively even if a tendency to concede cheap free-kicks — through sheer eagerness as much as anything — is something he may wish to free from his game.

As the game wore on, he also started to lose a grip on his influence. England’s football reverted to its earlier sluggish type and as they struggled to maintain a tempo, so they failed to find Grealish out on the left enough.

This is the problem that continues to stalk England. Southgate’s team seem to have a problem with dictating the rhythm of a game for long period. Southgate brought Jordan Henderson on at half-time but it did not change things an awful lot and they entered the last third of the contest with everything still in the balance.

It is hard to understand why this continues to happen to England. Certainly there seems to be a shortfall in belief and that may yet harm them the further they go into this tournament.