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Luke Shaw played for England at the 2022 World Cup following his grandmother’s death.
Luke Shaw said that his grandmother died right before the World Cup, and he acknowledges that this served as an inspiration for him while playing in Qatar.
Shaw revealed that she had been battling cancer for some time and passed before the Three Lions kicked off their tournament.
Despite stating that he has had time to grieve and is now totally focused on the World Cup, he applauded manager Gareth Southgate for how he handled the matter.
“My Nan sadly passed away before (the tournament),” Shaw told The Athletic. “She had cancer for a long while and unfortunately she passed away just before the first game. But of course Gareth was really good with me, spoke to me and said: ‘Is everything ok?’ If I need to have time away just focus on that. But I’m here, this World Cup means so much to me and I didn’t want to miss anything.”
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On her memory being a source of motivation in Qatar, he said: “She was a really important part of my childhood. I spent a lot of time with her. Unfortunately, she had cancer for a long while and suffered a lot, so it had been a long thing. But I’ve had time to grieve and fully focus on the World Cup.”
Shaw has started each of England’s group games since the death of his grandmother, and he played the entire 65th minute of Tuesday’s rout of Wales before being substituted. The Man United full-back has contributed one assist thus far in Qatar, a total he will look to increase as he plays a key role in Southgate’s World Cup push.
After their victory saw England top Group B, Shaw and Co. go on to face Group A runners-up Senegal in the round of 16 on Sunday.