Watkins 'speechless' after dream England debut goal
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Ollie Watkins wrapping up England's 5-0 win over minnows San Marino at an empty Wembley Stadium on Thursday in their opening World Cup qualifier, scoring 20 minutes into his debut as a second-half substitute.
PHOTO: REUTERS
LONDON • Some will jest that not scoring against 210th-ranked San Marino is harder than actually scoring for a pedigree striker, but Ollie Watkins did not care after his debut goal in England's 5-0 World Cup qualifying win on Thursday.
The Aston Villa player was given his chance as a 63rd-minute substitute and marked the occasion with a clinical finish 20 minutes later to complete the scoring.
"It's unbelievable, it's what I dreamt of," he said of his meteoric rise from fourth-tier side Exeter to England international in little over three years.
"All day in the hotel I was thinking about it, 'I hope I get on and get an opportunity', but I didn't know if it would happen.
"I'm speechless, to be honest. I feel honoured that I have had the chance to put on the shirt and play with these players."
With England skipper Harry Kane left watching on as an unused substitute, the 25-year-old Watkins fully justified his first England call-up, a reward for an impressive season for Villa since joining from second-tier Brentford.
He has scored 10 Premier League goals this season and is another example of the plethora of exciting attacking options available to England coach Gareth Southgate.
Dominic Calvert-Lewin grabbed a brace and now has four goals in his first four England starts, while James Ward-Prowse and Raheem Sterling netted the other two goals.
Jesse Lingard, while not scoring on his return to the international fold, was a lively presence.
Mason Mount, Ben Chilwell and Reece James impressed in the first half, as did Kalvin Phillips, while Phil Foden and 17-year-old Jude Bellingham both got some game time after the break against Fifa's lowest-ranked side.
The only frustration for Southgate in his 50th match in charge of England was his largely second-string side scored only five goals from 32 goal attempts, below the average of six they have put past the part-timers in six previous meetings.
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Career goals for Raheem Sterling, including 14 for England, with 12 of those coming in his last 14 appearances.
Such was the training-ground feel, however, that proper analysis of England's progress will only really be possible in the next two games, away to Albania tomorrow and at home to Poland on Wednesday.
"I was really pleased with not only the way we moved the ball quickly and the interchange of positions but also the way we pressed when we lost the ball, which highlighted the mentality of the team," Southgate said of his team's opening Group I game.
The 50-year-old also reserved special praise for Watkins.
"The first thing you saw was the reaction from the team. That shows you how together they are. They know what it means for him," he said of the striker, who also once spent half a season on loan at non-league Weston-Super-Mare.
"He's settled in really quickly with the group. He's a really humble boy and it was nice to be able to give him half an hour or so. For him to get a goal is a fairy tale isn't it?"
REUTERS, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
