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Former Chelsea defender Antonio Rudiger has praised Manchester City winger Jack Grealish after England national team coach Gareth Southgate asked the latter to improve 'tactically'. Rudiger, who signed for Real Madrid this summer, believes Grealish will play a key role in his position for the national team in coming times.
The 26-year-old former Aston Villa player came off the bench to help England make a comeback against Germany in their UEFA Nations League match on Wednesday. The Three Lions came from one goal down as Harry Kane converted an 88th-minute penalty to steal a point from the match.
After the match, England head coach Gareth Southgate said that Grealish will have to become tactically more sound to become a regular player in the English starting XI.
In response to Southgate's remarks, Grealish said that he will soon adapt to his changed role in the national team as compared to the one he has at the Etihad Stadium.
Weighing in on the issue after the match, Germany international Rudiger defended Grealish, saying that the 25-year-old had a real impact on his team from the moment he came on to the pitch.
Speaking to the press after the match against England, new Real Madrid signing Rudiger said via The Mirror:
“The England squad has great quality. It’s like Saka comes out, Grealish comes in. I saw a lot of big, big names were on the bench. The English players are definitely getting better. You have to think about it like this, that players like Rashford and Sancho didn’t even make the squad.''
“That tells you that you have a lot of depth in the English squad and you have big, big players like Harry Kane, Sterling and Grealish - big names, big players.”
The 29-year-old German defender spoke about Grealish's impact on the game and labelled him a 'dangerous' player. He added:
“I think Grealish gave the team a real impact - because he came on and he gave good one-v-ones and everything. He is a very dangerous player and those sort of players are going to win you games.”
England head coach Gareth Southgate confirms Phil Foden and Kalvin Phillips' injury ahead of clash against Italy
Gareth Southgate has confirmed Manchester City star Phil Foden and Leeds United midfielder Kalvin Phillips are injured ahead of the game against Italy. The manager said that the two young players are unlikely to feature in the clash against the defending Euro Champions at Wembley Stadium on Saturday.
Addressing the press ahead of the game, Southgate said via Football Italia:
“We’re still assessing both, Phil joined in with training this morning. He’s progressing, not quickly, so there’s still doubt he can be involved in either game.''
