Princess: 'It's a sick thing to do that for my country'

Princess Ademiluyi was left buzzing after helping fire England women’s under-19s to victory in their opening game of the UEFA Women’s U19 EURO in Poland on Sunday.

The West Ham United striker was handed a spot in the starting lineup to play the Netherlands by head coach Lauren Smith, and with the Young Lionesses unfortunate to be a goal behind at half time, she played a major role in turning the game back in England’s favour.

Firstly, Ademiluyi found the equaliser less than ten minutes into the second half before she saw her shot diverted home by Dutch defender Olivia Rademaker just four minutes later.

"Honestly, it feels so surreal. I didn't expect to come in and do a mad ‘ting after like two or three minutes,” she said.

"It's a sick thing to do that for my country, you can't beat that feeling and I felt that today so I just want to keep doing that throughout the tournament now.”

The 18 year old, who made history with her club when she became the first player from West Ham’s foundation player pathway to play for their first team, is a relative newcomer to the international scene.

But she’s now fully settled into the group and ready to play her part in this summer’s tournament.

"I only joined the group this season, so to get in that starting line up is going to be hard because obviously there's players who have been here since they were younger,” she added.

"But honestly, it feels like I've done my part and it shows that what I've done on the pitch is a reflection of what I've done all season.

"This was a perfect night for me!”

The Young Lionesses will be back in action on Wednesday afternoon when they face Portugal (4pm BST) in their second game before they tackle current U19 EURO holders Spain in their final group game on Saturday (6pm BST), with all games this summer being screened live in the UK via BBC Sport and iPlayer.

And Ademiluyi, who describes the squad as “resilient” says the attitude within the group in Poland is that they feel they can go all the way.

"If you want me to be completely honest, we're winning these finals,” she said.

“And that's the momentum I want us to have and the mindset we should have.”