Other than scoring, Rice also set up the goal for Grealish, who said the pair were braced for the hot reception they received.

“It was what me and Declan expected,” said Grealish. “We have nothing bad to say, we both enjoyed our time [playing for Ireland] – I certainly did and I have a lot of Irish in my family, so there’s no bad blood whatsoever from my side.

“Going to the fans at the end and hearing them sing my name, listen there’s no better feeling than playing for England, everyone will say the same thing, especially in games like this when you know the whole nation is going to be watching.”

Grealish’s performance and goal was also the perfect response to being left out of the England squad for the European Championship and the Manchester City star added: “Over the summer, it was one of the worst summers of my life because you can’t not see everything that is happening in front of you. It was difficult but it’s given me something to bounce back.

“I need to start playing regularly, scoring goals, and that’s what I did today. I’m still not 100 per cent fit, but I’m getting there so from a personal point of view I’m happy.”

Asked how he felt about the victory and his goal, Rice said: “Really good. It was the manager’s first game and we got a win. To score alongside Jack, it was a really nice feeling as well.

“It has been really refreshing this week – Lee has been amazing to work with, his meetings have been top and training has been really good. It’s been a fresh start, a change and to win for him today and for ourselves to get off to a winning start was the main thing.”