Danny Welbeck has targeted a starting place in the Euro 2012 opener
against France after scoring his first goal for England in the
1-0 win over
Belgium.
With
Wayne Rooney
suspended for the first two games,
he put himself in a strong position with a delightful goal.
Welbeck, 21, faces competition from Andy Carroll and
Jermain Defoe.
"I'm just really looking to build on that performance
and get more games under my belt and more goals," said the Manchester
United striker.
"To get my first England goal in that way [with a
dinked finish over the goalkeeper following Ashley Young's through
ball], obviously I'm really delighted and it's a massive honour.
"It's something I've been waiting for, for a long
time."
Welbeck, who won his fifth cap, says the squad is
relishing the competition for a starting place.
"I've had a few caps under my
belt and one or two starts. So, just to get the goal today, I'm really
delighted," he said.
"We've got an array of talent across the whole squad
and I think everybody's just pushing forward to get on the pitch and
show what they can do. And that's only good for England."
Manager
Roy Hodgson
was delighted with Welbeck and the way he linked up with club
team-mate Ashley Young.
"It was a very good goal. I was delighted with the way
he took it and delighted with the way they fashioned it," he said.
"It was a good piece of work from the two front
players. They worked well together to pressurise the Belgium defence.
"When Ashley played him in I thought he showed
remarkable calmness to keep his head on his left foot and chip it over
the goalkeeper. That, for me, was the highlight of the game."
Hodgson was pleased with his side's defending but
admitted they need to improve at the other end of the pitch.
"In terms of the shape of the team defensively we
haven't done too badly," he said.
"There have been some good signs
for us there, but there is certainly a lot of work we need to do on our
shape offensively.
"Sometimes when we have got the ball we are too wide in
the wide areas and not making enough of getting the ball into those
pockets behind the midfield players. But it is something we are working
on."
Captain
Steven Gerrard
said the squad can take confidence from back-to-back victories
following their
1-0 win in
Norway.
"We're on the back of two wins but we're not going to
get carried away," said the Liverpool midfielder.
"We know we can still improve and get better, but we've
had very little time with this manager.
"So it is going to take time for everyone to settle and
get used to it but before the two games I wanted two wins so we're
happy.
"The mood's relaxed, we're all working hard and giving
our best and that's all you can ask for."
source : http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/18311788
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