The Motherwell right-back says he was given advice on how to frustrate the Aston Villa playmaker by John McGinn
Stephen O’Donnell has revealed how he managed to wind up Jack Grealish during Scotland’s clash with England at Euro 2020.
Scotland picked up a 0-0 draw against age-old foes England at Wembley on Friday night, keeping their hopes of qualifying for the round of 16 alive in the process.
Steve Clarke’s side managed to frustrate the Three Lions’ most creative players, including Jack Grealish, who was targeted by O’Donnell after replacing Phil Foden for the final 27 minutes of the game.
What’s been said?
The Motherwell right-back was booked for a foul on Grealish, but generally did a good job of keeping the Aston Villa star quiet, having been told the best way to deal with him by his club team-mate John McGinn before the game.
When quizzed on his yellow card, O’Donnell told ScotlandHQ LIVE: “I was just getting a wee bit fed up at that stage of the game, he’d just come on, he was nice and fresh.
“Normally when the fresh wingers come on that’s when you’re a bit tired so I thought: ‘I just need to hit him here’, because I was getting fed up of him trying to take the mick out of me so I gave him a wee hit.
“Thankfully John McGinn had given me some tips, he said if he comes on you need to be nibbling in his ear but don’t be critical, be complimentary.
“So the full time he was on I was telling him how good looking he was and I love his calves and asking him how he got his hair to look like that.
“[McGinn] said if you tell him he’s hopeless or kick him really, really hard, he gets up and gives it back at you. Maybe that was the advantage over Jack Grealish the other night.”
How things stand in Group D
The Czech Republic, who beat Scotland 2-0 at Hampden in the first round of group stage fixtures, are currently sitting on top of Group D on goal difference ahead of England after drawing 1-1 with Croatia in their second game.
The Three Lions opened their campaign with a 1-0 victory over Croatia, but must now avoid defeat to the Czechs on Tuesday in order to make certain of a spot in the knockout phase.
Scotland, meanwhile, must pick up their own victory against Croatia to make it through, with the four best third-placed sides in the six groups also set to progress to the last 16.
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