"My nan sadly passed away, she had cancer for a long while and, unfortunately, she passed away just before the first game [against Iran]," Luke Shaw told the Mirror.
"Gareth [Southgate] was really good with me, spoke to me and asked if everything was okay and did I need to have time away.
"So this World Cup means so much to me. I didn’t want to miss anything. I’ve had time to grieve.
"You could say it is part of my motivation - she was a really important part of my childhood, I spent a lot of time with her. She had cancer for a long while and had suffered a lot."
Despite the tragedy, Shaw stayed at the England camp in Qatar and started in each game of the group stage, helping the Three Lions top the quartet.
The 27-year-old is expected to retain his place in the line-up as England are taking on Senegal in the Round of 16 clash.
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