Jack Grealish glided across the Wembley turf and confirmed to England he is the real deal

Ethan Ampadu will have no doubt seen the replays of Jack Grealish embarrassing Virgil van Dijk at the weekend, so it is perhaps understandable that he was reluctant to get too tight to the Aston Villa captain.

Grealish had swerved one way and then the other before popping the ball through the legs of Van Dijk, so Ampadu stood off the 25-year-old on the edge of the Wales penalty area in the 26th minute at Wembley.

But Grealish used the yard of space to deliver the most perfect of crosses to gift Dominic Calvert-Lewin a debut England goal and register an assist on his first international start.

Defenders are often damned if they do and damned if they don’t when faced by Grealish in and around their own areas. Dive in and he can make them look silly, stand off and he can pick a pass or a shot.

It is exactly why England manager Gareth Southgate finally bowed to pressure to select Grealish and exactly why the midfield maverick must remain an important part of his plans heading towards next summer’s European Championships.

Southgate’s team had been plodding their way through this friendly until Grealish took it upon himself to move to the right side and make something happen.

England have pace to burn when the likes of Raheem Sterling and Jadon Sancho are available, but Grealish is different. He changes the course of games, whether it be through unlocking a defence or winning a crucial free-kick.

Southgate must have been delighted with Grealish’s input into England’s opening goal, but he might have been more impressed a couple of minutes later.

Often wrongly cast as a ‘luxury player’, Grealish got his team-mate Bukayo Saka off the hook by tracking back and blocking a cross to deny Wales the opportunity to try to hit straight back.

It is an area of his game that Grealish has worked hard on over the past 12 months and has already been evident during eye-catching early-season performances for Villa against Fulham and Liverpool.

Evidently keen not to let his first Wembley start pass without making a big impression, Grealish wore his socks an inch higher than normal, albeit still well below the knee, and played with heavy strapping around his left leg.

Given he had waited for his big chance for five years since deciding to play for England instead of the Republic of Ireland, it would have been understandable if he had displayed a few nerves.

But this was a display full of confidence and swagger, as he dropped deep to receive the ball when needed, took it under pressure and happily switched the play across England’s three-man defence while facing his own goal.

Three times in the first five minutes of the second half, Grealish won free kicks to put England back on the front foot and each time he was kicked to the floor he got back up again and dared his opponent to have another go.

And it was from another free-kick Grealish won, following one of numerous fouls by Ampadu, that captain for the night Kieran Trippier sent in the delivery for Conor Coady to double England’s lead.

Ampadu had attempted to turn the evening into a personal duel with Grealish, but he simply could not live with England’s number 11. He was booked a few minutes after Coady’s goal for once again falling for the Grealish bait before being substituted around the hour mark for his own good.

There are few players as brave as Grealish at taking the ball in difficult areas and, evidently enjoying his evening, he was showing for it everywhere, whether it be in his own half, out wide or in the penalty area, from where he almost created another goal with a low cross that was crying out to be side-footed into the net.

Villa fans might even miss not having to try to convince the rest of the county that Grealish is the real deal. England have now seen for themselves.