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'It's what I dreamt about!' - Watkins 'over the moon' after debut goal for England
The Aston Villa star expressed his delight after opening his scoring account at the international level
Ollie Watkins said he was "over the moon" to fulfil his dream of scoring on his England debut against San Marino on Thursday night.
Watkins came off the bench to round off a comfortable 5-0 win for the Three Lions at Wembley as Gareth Southgate's side made the perfect start to their 2022 World Cup qualifying campaign.
The Aston Villa striker expressed his joy after the final whistle while promising to keep his head down and take each game as it comes at both international and club level.
What's been said?
Watkins told ITV Sport of his maiden goal for England: "Unbelievable, what I have dreamt about. All day in the hotel I was just thinking that I hope to get a chance to come on, enjoy it and get the opportunity to score. I'm speechless to be honest.
"It's been a good journey. I just feel honoured that I can come out here and play for my country with these players and score on my debut. Over the moon.
"I just wanted to get on pitch for a start. I have and can't believe it.
"I'm going to take each game as it comes, focus on my club form, play consistently for Aston Villa, score for them, help the team push up the table and hopefully get into Europe and take it from there."
How did Southgate react to Watkins' performance?
Southgate singled Watkins out for special praise in his post-match interview, highlighting the immediate impact he has had since being drafted into the squad.
"The first thing you saw was the reaction from the rest of the team," the England boss said to ITV. "That shows you how together they are. They know what it means for him. 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 fairytale isn't it?"
Watkins goal caps a perfect night for England
As expected, the Three Lions were dominant right from the first whistle against San Marino, whose rearguard was breached after just 14 minutes when James Ward-Prowse swept home a Ben Chilwell cross.
Dominic Calvert-Lewin doubled the hosts' advantage seven minutes later with a trademark header, before a Raheem Sterling strike put England 3-0 up just after the half-hour mark.
Calvert-Lewin tapped home his second early in the second period after being teed up by Jesse Lingard and Watkins had the final say to ensure that Southgate's side moved top of Group I ahead of their next fixture against Albania on Sunday.
