Jack Grealish aimed a touching celebration at his girlfriend Sasha Attwood after scoring for England days on from welcoming his baby daughter.
Grealish made the breakthrough against Finland in the Three Lions’ Nations League match in Helsinki after 18 minutes before turning to the cameras.
He then toasted his goal by sucking his thumb, a nod to the birth of his first child.
Attwood and Grealish welcomed their daughter Mila Rose at the end of September but only officially announced the news on social media last week.
Grealish, 29, described the birth as the ‘best moment’ of his life and spent several hours with his daughter before playing for City against Newcastle at St James’ Park.
Having scored for the first time since becoming a father, he produced a special celebration to mark the moment at the Helsinki Olympic Stadium.
Asked whether he had a plan in mind if he scored, Grealish replied: ‘Yeah, to be fair I’ve half thought about it for a while, I just didn’t manage to score yet.
‘Well, obviously I scored for England but in the moment just so much was going on and it being against Ireland and that I just completely forgot. Maybe next time.’
Both Grealish and influencer Attwood shared an adorable black and white photo of their newborn little girl holding his finger shortly after her birth.
Grealish has been dating Attwood, his childhood sweetheart, for 10 years.
Attwood celebrated with him on the pitch after he won his second Premier League title last year and she was also present for their Champions League triumph in 2023.
After missing out on England’s run to the Euro 2024 final, having been dropped by Gareth Southgate, Grealish insisted his omission was a mistake.
Grealish, now brought back in from the cold by interim boss Lee Carsley, said: ‘I’ll be honest with you, I didn’t really agree with it.
‘I think you need a bit of a balance in every position on the pitch.
‘You look at some players in my position – the likes of Phil Foden, Anthony Gordon or Jarrod Bowen – they’ve scored a lot of goals. But I know that my game is not just about goals. I give so much more to the team than just goals.’