Leicester City striker Jamie Vardy was happy to play his part for England on Thursday afternoon after coming off the bench to inspire a 2-1 Euro 2016 victory over Wales.
-
Jamie Vardy emphasises that ‘it’s a team game’ after coming off the
bench to inspire England to a Euro 2016 victory over Wales
- Gareth Bale put Wales in front, but Vardy and Daniel Sturridge earned England a 2-1 win after coming on at half time
- Vardy is the first Leicester City player to score for England in a major tournament
- England need a point in their final Group B game against Slovakia to guarantee progress to the knockout stages
Leicester
City striker Jamie Vardy was happy to play his part for England on
Thursday afternoon after coming off the bench to inspire a 2-1 Euro 2016
victory over Wales.
With
Gareth Bale having put Wales into a 1-0 lead with a long range free
kick just before the break, England’s hopes of advancing to the knockout
stages were looking in danger, but a double substitution from Roy
Hodgson at half time made a huge impact.
Vardy
and Daniel Sturridge replaced Harry Kane and Raheem Sterling and within
10 minutes, the Leicester striker produced an excellent close range
finish to level the scores and in the process become the only City
player to ever score for England in a major tournament.
He
was again involved deep into second half stoppage time as some
intricate play gave Sturridge the chance to win it for England – one he
took brilliantly.
That
win moved England to the top of Group B, needing a point against
Slovakia on Monday night to guarantee progress into the knockout
stages.
“I
think everyone wants to be a part of the starting line up but it’s a
team game, there’s 23 of us and we’re all in this together,” Vardy told
media after the match.
“So to come off the bench you want to try to make an impact, and thankfully I did today.
“We
thought we were playing well and the message [at half time] was simple;
to carry on what we have been doing and hope that the goals were going
to come, and today they have.”
It
was a fantastic atmosphere inside the stadium in Lens, and Vardy hopes
that the support from the Three Lions fans can help them again when they
take on Slovakia.
He added: “It’s good wherever we play, our fans, they’re brilliant, nice and loud and sometimes they can be the 12th man.
“We’ll go back onto the training pitch now and look forward to Slovakia.
“We
just want to take each game as it comes. We’ve got the win today and
hopefully next game we’ll get another win to top the group.”
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