Nathan Oduwa put in a classy display for England U18s on Wednesday during their 2-1 victory over Germany in Rotherham.
The Tottenham Hotspur schemer was given the classic ‘No. 10’ role by head coach Neil Dewsnip and it paid dividends as the 18-year-old responded with a man-of-the-match display.
And Oduwa was quick to pay tribute to his team-mates, after two days of preparation in the build-up to the game under Dewsnip and assistant coach Noel Blake.
Oduwa played in the No. 10 role against Germany
"It's a fantastic achievement, everyone's worked hard tonight and during the week and it's paid off,” said Oduwa, who has also been capped at U17 level with the Young Lions.
"We were confident about the game because the team ethic all week on Monday and Tuesday was fantastic, everyone was battling to get a place in the starting eleven.
"And I felt confident around the players I was with.”
England had fallen behind in the first half, but two substitutions changed the game with Blackburn Rovers striker Dean Rittenberg and Oduwa's Spurs team-mate Harry Winks coming off the bench to get the goals.
Oduwa has previously been deployed as a winger this season, both with club and country, and it was only after seeing the Londoner’s form in training this week that Dewsnip decided to give him the central role.
Watch highlights of the game with Germany
And it was a position that he enjoyed performing in, to the delight of the 9000-strong crowd at the New York.
"I've played there for Tottenham before,” he told TheFA.com.
“I like to get hold of the ball a lot so I can run at the centre-backs in the middle, so it paid off tonight.
"They [Germany] were a fantastic side, they kept the ball very well and their movement in midfield was a joke!
"But we stuck to it and came back from 1-0 down so it was a fantastic achievement.”
Watch the full interview with Nathan in the video player above.
