5 days Ago
SAINTS defender Taylor Harwood-Bellis admitted he lived out his dream by scoring on his England debut. Harwood-Bellis headed in England's fifth goal in a 5-0 thrashing of Ireland at Wembley Stadium on Sunday evening having come on to replace former Man City teammate Kyle Walker. It took the 22 year old just 17 minutes to score his first Three Lions goal; he met Jude Bellingham's ball to the back post with a fine header to beat Caoimhin Kelleher.
Harwood-Bellis has now scored four goals this season for club and country, but his first for England is admittedly the best of his entire career so far. He scored his first Premier League goal at AFC Bournemouth in between goals against Everton and Stoke in the Carabao Cup. "It's some feeling," he told ITV Sport.
"It's what dreams are made of. This is the pinnacle of football at the senior level. Getting a goal rounded it off nicely.
"The ambition was to show what I could do. I wanted to get on the pitch and show what I could do in training. Taylor Harwood-Bellis has been a threat in the air since joining #SaintsFC , but I don't think anyone had him down to score this many goals this season.
His fourth of the campaign tonight and by far the most special. Buzzing for him to score. pic.
twitter.com/WQCzc8sgiE — George Rees-Julian (@rees_julian) November 17, 2024 "I'm striving to be with the senior squad. I've played for the U21s for a long time now - my aim is to be with the seniors.
" Asked about his goal, Harwood-Bellis added: "When the ball goes back for the second phase, I always drift to the back post. "Jude Bellingham has got unbelievable quality. When he put it into the box, it was a beautiful ball, straight on my head.
I love going up for set-pieces and scoring goals. "Of course, (it's the goal of my career) by a country mile. I want to stay here.
It's one thing getting here but the hardest job is to stay here. Taylor Harwood-Bellis scored against Ireland on his England debut (Image: Adam Davy/PA) "That comes down to performances when you're here but also keeping your performances high when you go back to your club. "It's a hard group to get into.
The quality is high - the players who aren't here are top. My aim is to keep doing my thing at Southampton and hopefully stay in the squad. "I've learned the level you have to be at every day.
You can't drop off that, the professionalism from everyone is top-notch. I have to replicate that every day at club level. "The depth is incredible.
It's going to be a hard squad to get into but I will try my best." Thomas Tuchel will be in charge by the time England return to action with the next international break taking place in March..
