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Steven Gerrard says ‘fine the FA for being late’ as fans hail Curtis Jones’ “joga bonito”

Curtis Jones was Man of the Match on his England debut as he scored in a 3-0 win over Greece, which left Steven Gerrard joking to “fine the FA for being late.”

Jones started as England travelled to Greece in the UEFA Nations League on Thursday night, marking his debut for the Three Lions with a goal.

His was a beautifully taken finish to make it 3-0 in Athens, flicking past Odysseas Vlachodimos with his back heel after excellent work from Morgan Gibbs-White and Jarrod Bowen.

It capped a Man of the Match display from the Liverpool midfielder, who had the most touches (86), completed the most passes (65/68), won the third-most duels (seven) and the joint-most tackles (two) of any player per FotMob.

“I just went out there, I was playing free, I had a smile on my face,” he told ITV Sport afterwards, “I was enjoying it and I’m happy that I came away with a goal as well.”

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For those of a Liverpool persuasion it was a big moment – including for Gerrard, who took to Instagram in a joke call to “fine the FA and all the coaches for being late.”

Gerrard – who coached Jones while working at the Liverpool academy – was joined in his praise by Cody Gakpo, who is among the midfielder’s closest friends at the club.

And Jones earned plaudits from across the wider England support, with Reds fans happy that their No. 17 appears to be finally getting the recognition he deserves.


Jones has struck an exceptional vein of form in recent weeks, with Arne Slot half-joking that “since the moment he became a father he started putting great performances in.”

He was Man of the Match after scoring the winner against Chelsea, as well as assisting against Brighton in the Premier League and Bayer Leverkusen in the Champions League, before shining on his England bow.

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Hopefully the 23-year-old to keep building momentum, as Liverpool only stand to benefit as one of their most talented academy graduates establishes himself at international level.