England’s Jack Grealish received praise across the country for his performance off the bench in the country’s 6-2 win over Iran at the World Cup.
The Manchester City winger scored England’s sixth, capping off an excellent attacking display from everyone on the pitch.
Grealish also received plenty of plaudits for his celebration of the goal, which has plenty of context.
Two months ago, Grealish met a young City fan called Finlay, who has the condition cerebral palsy, something that the England star knows all about.
cerebral palsy can affect muscle control, coordination, and tone, reflexes, posture and balance. Often cerebral palsy will display signs of the condition, but the effects can vary greatly from person to person.
His sister, Hollie, has the condition, and Grealish always shows his support for her, and all affected by the disease. Grealish often calls Hollie, who was born three months premature and told she wouldn’t be able to walk, his best friend. He has also often stated that he cares about anyone with the disease and wants to help.
He has said before: “I’ve been thinking for some time about how I can use the football platform to make change, as it’s something really close to my heart.”
Earlier in 2022 Grealish was also announced as an ambassador for the GB Special Olympics team to try and drive for greater diversity and inclusivity, showing his drive to help.
So, when he got a letter from 11-year-old Finlay, Grealish made sure to put the opportunity to good use.
The letter said how much of an inspiration Grealish is, and that all people should be the same in making awareness of such diseases clear. Grealish responded by meeting him and talking to him, as well as giving him a signed shirt
He also promised that he would celebrate in a specific way for Finlay the next time he scored, which was Monday afternoon.
Finlay had asked him to perform the Worm celebration, but Jack said that would be difficult as he wouldn’t want to risk an injury but wanted to celebrate in honour of the young fan. After scoring, he instead wiggled his arm in a ‘worm’ fashion, making young Finlay’s year.

Ivan Vizor of the Gloucestershire based Manchester City supporters group said ‘It just sums Jack up, on and off the pitch he is a class act’ something which has become evident in recent times.
Vizor also said: “It must be hard having a sister who has such a terrible disease but using the experiences you have to help others is amazing, fair play to Jack. He has always seemed a nice guy with good intentions, so this just backs that up and confirms he is one of the nicer guys around”
Grealish also shone with the ball at feet yesterday, not only with the goal, but he created plenty of chances after coming on for Raheem Sterling.
His overall performance also impressed Vizor, who will be hoping Grealish can push on a bit more from that:
“That was his best performance in an England shirt, and he only played half an hour!”
“He’s struggled to nail down a starting spot at City but that doesn’t mean he’s a bad player, he’s just struggled to adapt but that will come with time, he’s begun to show these sorts of performances for City of late, and hopefully he can continue to do so after the World Cup.”
Grealish will be focussing solely on the World Cup itself as England look to go all the way, but many will be wondering what celebration we might see next should he score.
And he will be playing a crucial part in any hopes of the Three Lions have whether that’s off the bench or starting especially if he can embody the spirit he shows towards others.