Jack Grealish returned to the scoresheet for England after ‘the worst summer of his life’ saw him miss out on a place in the Three Lions' Euro 2024 squad.
Grealish netted the second goal in England's 2-0 victory over the Republic of Ireland in their Nations League clash at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin.
It was just his third-ever goal for the England senior team and his first as a starter.
The Manchester City attacker was selected to start by interim head coach Lee Carsley in his first match at the helm, after falling out of favour towards the end of Gareth Southgate's time in charge.
"Over the summer, it was one of the worst summers of my life because you can't not see everything that is happening in front of you,” he told ITV after the match.
“It was difficult but it's given me something to bounce back."
Grealish delivered a display fitting of a player with something to prove.
While he was on the pitch, no England player won more fouls (4) or created more chances (2) than the 28-year-old.
"I need to start playing regularly, scoring goals, and that's what I did today. I'm still not 100% fit but I'm getting there so from a personal point of view I'm happy,” he added.
"Going to the fans at the end and hearing them sing my name, listen there's no better feeling than playing for England.
Everyone will say the same thing, especially in games like this when you know the whole nation is going to be watching.”
Declan Rice opened the scoring for England in the 11th minute before assisting Grealish to double the lead 15 minutes later.
Both players had previously represented their opponents, and faced a tough reception in Dublin.
"It was what me and Declan expected. We have nothing bad to say, we both enjoyed our time [playing for Ireland]," Grealish said.
"I certainly did and I have a lot of Irish in my family, so there's no bad blood whatsoever from my side," said Grealish.
The victory marks the first time England have won consecutive meetings with the Republic of Ireland since March 1985.
The Three Lions were winless in seven against them between these two runs (D5 L2).
Gabbia, Pisilli and Maldini named in Italy's Nations League squad
Luciano Spalletti has handed four players their senior call-up to the Italy national team ahead of their Nations League fixtures next week.
Italy take on Belgium and Israel in the next round of games, hoping to build on their impressive start in Group A2 after winning their opening two games which included a 3-1 win over France.
Milan defender Matteo Gabbia has been included after an impressive run of performances at centre-back under new head coach Paulo Fonseca.
Gabbia is also the first player from the Rossoneri to be named in the Italy squad in almost 600 days, with Sandro Tonali, who joined Newcastle in 2023, the last Milan representative to feature for the Azzurri.
There was also a place in the squad for Monza's Daniel Maldini, who could follow in the footsteps of his father Paolo, and grandfather Cesare, both former Italy captains.
Maldini has one goal and one assist in seven appearances in all competitions this season, and comes in for Lazio's Matteo Zaccagni.
Juventus goalkeeper Michele Di Gregorio has also been given a first call-up to the senior side, replacing the injured Alex Meret of Napoli.
Roma's Niccolo Pisilli was also named in the squad, replacing Atlanta's Marco Brescianini, who has also suffered a recent injury set-back.
There were five Premier League representatives named in Spalletti's 23-man squad on Friday, with Guglielmo Vicario, Riccardo Calafiori, Caleb Okoli, Destiny Udogie and Tonali also included.
However, there was no space for Liverpool's Federico Chiesa, who did not feature in the Reds' Champions League win over Bologna in midweek.
Italy squad: Michele Di Gregorio (Juventus), Gianluigi Donnarumma (PSG), Guglielmo Vicario (Spurs), Alessandro Bastoni (Inter), Raoul Bellanova (Atalanta), Alessandro Buongiorno (Napoli), Riccardo Calafiori (Arsenal), Andrea Cambiaso (Juventus), Giovanni Di Lorenzo (Napoli), Federico Dimarco (Inter), Matteo Gabbia (Milan), Caleb Okoli (Leicester), Destiny Udogie (Tottenham Hotspur), Nicolo Fagioli (Juventus), Davide Frattesi (Inter), Lorenzo Pellegrini (Roma), Niccolo Pisilli (Roma), Samuele Ricci (Torino), Sandro Tonali (Newcastle United), Moise Kean (Fiorentina), Daniel Maldini (Monza), Giacomo Raspadori (Napoli), Mateo Retegui (Atalanta).
Bayern confirm Musiala 'sidelined for the time being' with hip injury
Bayern Munich have confirmed that midfielder Jamal Musiala will be out "for the time being" after picking up a hip injury in their Champions League defeat to Aston Villa.
Musiala, who played in the second half of the 1-0 loss at Villa Park, has been ruled out for Bayern's upcoming Bundesliga fixture against Eintracht Frankfurt on Sunday.
He will also miss Germany's Nations League fixtures against Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Netherlands, with Julian Nagelsmann replacing the 21-year-old in his squad with Stuttgart's Jamie Leweling.
Musiala has been in fine form for Vincent Kompany's side, scoring three goals and laying on three assists in eight appearances in all competitions.
The midfielder also has the joint-most completed dribbles in the Bundesliga this season (seven), while only Michael Olise (14), Joshua Kimmich (13) and Harry Kane (10) have created more chances for Bayern than Musiala (seven).
He has also impressed for Germany on the international stage, scoring six times in 36 games for his country, playing a starring role in their Nations League opener against Hungary last month, scoring once and providing three assists in the 5-0 victory.
"Following an examination by the club's medical staff, Jamal Musiala will be sidelined for the time being with a hip problem," Bayern said on their social media accounts.
Stokes a doubt for England's series opener against Pakistan
Ben Stokes is a doubt for England's three-match series in Pakistan, with Zak Crawley admitting they do not know if he will be fit to feature.
Stokes tore his hamstring playing for Northern Superchargers in The Hundred competition, forcing him to miss the side's last three matches against Sri Lanka, with England winning the series 2-1.
At the end of September, the captain underwent a planned scan which showed he was “on track” to feature in the series, although he was not expected to bowl at the start.
Stokes had been hoping to make his return in the series opener on Monday, but looked uncomfortable in England's first training session, and is yet to be given the green light.
"I think he's got to do a few more tests, but he's been doing some running and stuff," Crawley said.
"He seems to be going well, recovering well from his injury, [but] we don't know just yet. We feel ready, whatever team comes out, it will be a nice balance either way.
"We've got a really deep squad with plenty of options with the ball and with the bat as well."
If Stokes is available to play, they could have some selection headaches, as they would be forced to drop one of the top six batters with his inclusion to make way for an extra bowler.
If they do not drop a batter, they could rely on Joe Root, who could also make history as he has 12,402 runs for England in men's tests and is just 71 away from surpassing Alastair Cook (12,472) as the all-time leading run-scorer.
Crawley, meanwhile, has been cleared to feature after recovering from a broken finger that kept him out against Sri Lanka.
"I feel brand new. I'm looking forward to getting out there," Crawley added.
"I couldn't pick up a bat for five weeks. I've certainly missed it, so I can't wait to get out there again with the boys.
"It was a nasty break at the time, but I've recovered well, and I don't feel it at all while I'm batting.
"I won't go at slip, just from advice from the doctor, but I feel like I could. I'm trying to rest it, but I did a few catches, and it feels fine. I'm just trying to follow the professional advice."
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