Plenty of England fans are hoping to see Jack Grealish in Gareth Southgate’s starting line-up for the Euro 2020 Round of 16 clash against Germany.An unused substitute during England’s opening group-stage match against Croatia, Grealish came on for Phil Foden in the 0-0 draw against Scotland.He was then given the nod to start in England’s final group game against the Czech Republic and provided the assist for Raheem Sterling’s winning goal.Southgate must now decide whether to stick with Grealish or bring back Foden as England prepare for their do-or-die clash against the Germans at Wembley.p1f945p9vl15ou1vgq140r1ts513aeb.jpg

The day Grealish was punched by a Birmingham fan

Grealish has shown that he can handle big-pressure matches during his career - although not quite on this scale, admittedly.

The 25-year-old is mentally very strong, as we saw back in March 2019 when he was attacked by a Birmingham City fan while playing for Aston Villa away at St. Andrew’s.

In the 10th minute of the Second City derby, Grealish was floored after being punched by the pitch invader while he had his back turned.

It was a disgraceful act of cowardice by the ‘fan’ in question who was subsequently handed a 14-week prison sentence and banned from attending any football match in the UK.

Grealish, to his immense credit, remained cool and calm in the aftermath of the physical attack.

He didn’t retaliate or lose his temper with anyone, even though he was ‘shocked and scared’ at the time.

“If this person was brazen enough to get on to the pitch, what else could he do?” a statement on behalf of the midfielder read during the court hearing.

"He didn’t know the person who assaulted him and didn’t antagonise Birmingham City supporters.

"It could have been worse had the person had a weapon."

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Grealish responded in the best possible way

Grealish would have been forgiven if he felt he wasn’t in the right frame of mind to continue playing that afternoon.

Instead, he ended up getting revenge in the best possible way: by scoring the winning goal in the second half.

What did Grealish say after being punched?

“I was unaware at the time," Grealish said in his post-match interview on Sky Sports. "I was walking into position and felt a whack around the side of the face.

“Obviously there’s rivalry in football but I don’t think there’s any place for that.

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“I just tried to get on with my job - and I think I did. I scored the winner and we came away with three points.

“It was unbelievable, especially in front of our fans. After what happened in the first half, I think it was set up for it.”

Three crucial points helped Villa climb up to ninth place in the Championship table with two months of the season left to play.

They ended up getting promoted at the end of the campaign via the play-offs.

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"Jack Grealish is a mature lad, and he responded well,” Villa boss Dean Smith said after his side’s win at Birmingham. “There was only one way to answer that and that was to pop up with a winner like he did.

"I'm really proud of the way he handled it.”

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