England's World Cup rivals have been betting on how many times Jack Grealish would be fouled

Bernardo Silva has admitted that he has been betting with his Portugal teammates over how many fouls England star Jack Grealish will draw at the World Cup.

Grealish punched his ticket to his first World Cup with England and has been securing regular playing time for the Three Lions, despite not starting.

The 27-year-old Manchester City winger came off the bench and scored in England’s 6-2 demolition of Iran in their Group B opener in Qatar.

Despite not starting for England, Grealish could be an invaluable option for Gareth Southgate in his side’s upcoming quarter-final clash against France on Saturday.

Silva could come up against City teammate Grealish in the World Cup semi-finals if Portugal beat Morocco in their quarter-final match on Saturday.

The 28-year-old Portugal star has admitted that he doesn’t want to come up against City teammates Phil Foden and Grealish, despite wishing them the best of luck.

However, Silva did reveal that he made wagers with City and Portugal teammate Ruben Dias over how many fouls Grealish could earn during an England match.

“I told him when he came on against Senegal, I was filming Ruben Dias and asked, ‘How many fouls do you think Jack Grealish is going to win in these 25 minutes?’” Silva said.

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“Ruben said nine, I said seven, I was closer as he didn’t win that many.

“I’m very happy for Jack and for Phil Foden as well, all City’s England players, they’ve been doing well.

“I wish them all the best but I honestly don’t want to play against them in the semi-final.”

Speaking on Grealish, Silva opened up on the threat that the England star possessed and tipped him to achieve incredible success at defending Premier League champions City.

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“He works for the team, the way he attracts players to create spaces for other players,” he said.

“I think he is going to be great for Man City in the next few years.”

Topics: Jack Grealish, Bernardo Silva, England, Football, Football World Cup

Adnan Riaz

Adnan Riaz is a journalist for SPORTbible. He studied for a B.A. in History at the University of York and followed it up with an M.A. in Multimedia Journalism at MMU. Before he started writing about sports, he spent over four years in the gaming press. He has worked for several publications, including Hardcore Gamer, LADbible and the Manchester Evening News. Follow him on Twitter to find out what he is working on next. Got a story tip for Adnan? Email him: [email protected]

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