Jack Grealish revealed he owes Trent Alexander-Arnold £500 after making a bet with his England team-mate before he scored his stunning free-kick in the 3-1 win over Finland.
Alexander-Arnold’s brilliant set-piece doubled England’s lead in Helsinki and lit up a difficult second half, before Declan Rice added a late third to give interim manager Lee Carsley a much-needed win.
Grealish, who dedicated his opening goal to his baby daughter after becoming a dad earlier this month, stood over the free-kick with Alexander-Arnold and said he would give the Liverpool defender a bonus if he scored.
And Grealish will now have to pay up after Alexander-Arnold stepped up and bent a curling shot into the top corner from 25 yards.
“I joked to Trent before the free-kick, ‘score this I will give you 500 quid’,” Grealish said to ITV.
“And he slapped it in top bin.”
Grealish said he supported England boss Carsley after the interim manager was criticised for his tactics in the 2-1 defeat to Greece at Wembley on Friday.
“Whatever happens with the England manager, people will always say negative stuff,” said Grealish, who was unavailable for the Greece game.
“Before people were crying out for all attacking players to play and it didn’t work. I don’t get it, it can happen in games.
“I love coming here, a top, top manager and I love playing for him.”
Grealish also praised Angel Gomes for his pass that led to his opening goal in Helsinki.
“We could have had a few more but it was difficult at times,” he said.
“The goal came from the manager letting us play with that freedom. I play with Angel Gomes in training and I know what a top player he is. The celebration was for my little daughter.”
