Gomes and Madueke reflect on dream England debuts

Angel Gomes and Noni Madueke both described England's 2-0 Nations League victory over Finland as a dream come true after a huge night of individual achievement for the pair.

Gomes had made his Three Lions debut off the bench against Republic of Ireland on Saturday but made his first start against the Finns, while Madueke made his bow off the bench.

The Lille midfielder played 90 minutes at the base of midfield and was delighted with how the evening had played out.

He said: "It's the stuff of dreams really, walking out and looking at the ground and the crowd. I've been here a couple of times as a spectator but to be on the pitch for my country is incredible.

"The whole team put me at ease. I look around and I see the best players in the world. The pressure just eases off when you're playing with them and you can feed off their energy. It's a special group of players and you could see it tonight the way we played.

"Lee Carsley showed faith in me as soon as I met him and we spoke in the Under-21s. We had amazing conversations and he gave me the belief to go out and show everyone what I can do.

"To do it in Harry Kane's 100th game as well makes it a special night."

Madueke replaced Bukayo Saka in the 66th minute of the contest and was 'buzzing' to have made his England debut.

He said: "It was great to make my first appearance for the national team today. I'm really proud of myself and it goes to show that when you put in the hard work and you're dedicated to your craft, you can go as far as possible.

"I'm really buzzing. It's been a great week. The boys are great, the staff and the players have made me feel really welcome so it's been good.

"I try to go out there and be direct and cause problems. There were probably a couple of shots I would have liked to do better with but I got the assist for Harry on his 100th appearance so you can't get much better than that.

"Harry has been great with me, as have John Stones, Declan Rice and Jack Grealish. It's a great group of lads.

"I can't wait to keep performing."