World Cup: England star Luke Shaw reveals grandmother's death after cancer battle

England defender Luke Shaw has revealed his grandmother died shortly before the World Cup.

The full-back has played an integral part in Gareth Southgate's squad in Qatar, having started all three group stage games, which finished in superb style with a 3-0 victory over Wales to set up a last 16 tie with Senegal.

"My nan sadly passed away, she had cancer for a long while and, unfortunately, she passed away just before the first game," Shaw told The Athletic.

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"Gareth was really good with me, spoke to me and asked if everything was okay and did I need to have time away.

"But I'm here, this World Cup means so much to me and I didn't want to miss anything."

Shaw, 27, added that she had "suffered a lot", adding that he had time to grieve the family loss before focusing on the World Cup.

He said: "She was a really important part of my childhood. I spent a lot of time with her."

On Tuesday night, Manchester United teammate Marcus Rashford revealed that his opening goal against Wales was dedicated to a late friend who also died recently from cancer.

Rashford said: "I lost one of my friends a couple of days ago.

"He had quite a long battle with cancer. I'm pleased I scored for him, he's always been a big supporter of mine.

"He was just a great person and I'm pleased he came into my life, really.|"

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Southgate paired Shaw and Rashford on the left flanks against Wales. And Shaw challenged his club-mate to deliver during the knock-out phases, with England first clashing with Senegal on Sunday.

"He's so good, the talent he's got, he can be unplayable," Shaw said.

"I think he needs to deliver that every single game he plays. He's got the quality that can make a difference, he's an unbelievable player and one that can make the difference for us.

"Hopefully he can keep those standards high and keep doing it."

Watch: Marcus Rashford dedicates goals to late friend