Referee Michael Salisbury had only just blown the full-time whistle to confirm Everton’s dramatic late win over Crystal Palace when the Toffees updated the bio on their X account.
Underneath the club’s famous badge appeared three words: Grealish for England., external
It is almost a year since Jack Grealish last wore a Three Lions shirt in a 3-1 Nations League win over Finland in Helsinki under interim manager Lee Carsley.
And it will be while longer before the 30-year-old gets the chance to represent his country again after being left out of Thomas Tuchel’s latest squad for a friendly against Wales next Thursday, followed by a World Cup qualifier in Latvia on 14 October.
But one thing remains crystal clear: Grealish is doing everything he can to force his way into Tuchel’s plans for next summer’s World Cup.
After providing four assists in his first six Premier League appearances for Everton, Grealish scored the 93rd-minute winner to seal his team’s comeback victory after Dean Henderson had denied Beto from point-blank range.
Timed at 92 minutes and 21 seconds, it was Everton’s latest home Premier League winning goal since March 2022 against Newcastle – 98 minutes and 20 seconds.
“Do you know what’s mad?” said Grealish, speaking to Sky Sports after the game.
“The last games we’ve played here we’ve been drawing and I’ve said to myself in the 85th minute, ‘come on Jack, go and score. Imagine if you scored now’.
“I said it against Aston Villa, and I didn’t score. I said it against West Ham and I didn’t score.
“Today, I actually said the same thing again and I scored. I ran to where my mum and dad were, so it was nice.”