Gareth Southgate praises Harry Winks after the Tottenham youngster impresses on his England debut

The 21-year-old has made just four Premier League starts for Tottenham, but the quality of his passing led Southgate to select him in the centre for the 1-0 away to Lithuania

Winks impressed on his England debut (Getty)

Gareth Southgate praised the performance of England debutant Harry Winks, saying that he should he could “carry the shirt” but also gave the side something different in midfield.

The 21-year-old has made just four Premier League starts for Tottenham Hotspur, but the quality of his passing led Southgate to select him in the centre for the 1-0 away to Lithuania, and his influence told.

“In many aspects we moved the ball quite well,” the England manager said.

“I was very pleased with Winks in that respect. For me one of the big things playing for England isn't necessarily the opposition, but whether you can carry the England shirt. He showed he could, tried to carry the ball forward where he could and did well.

Southgate did lament the fact they couldn’t score more, although he did point to the forthcoming November friendlies against Germany and Brazil as crucial to developing the side.

“We lacked a bit of quality around the final third, which has been a theme of this qualification campaign. We played a packed defence who don't even come out at 1-0 down, and we have to find a way of combating that. We didn't manage to do that. It was right to look at the front three we did.

“We've got some good attacking players who will score goals, and the challenges of the games going forward will be different. The style of the games, different. We'll be tested defensively, but there'll be a bit more space to play in, even though we'll be playing against a better quality of opposition.

Winks impressed on his senior international debut (Getty)

“I don't think confidence was an issue today. We had players with an opportunity. We didn't miss a shed load of chances. We didn't create enough clear-cut chances to score them. [Marcus] Rashford, [Dele] Alli and [Harry] Kane aren't short of confidence. We need to ensure what's around those players is solid and we create a few more chances than today. We've got test ourselves against the best. Our defenders need a different sort of challenge.

“They need to play out under more pressure, and to do defend against top strikers. That's part of their learning journey. If we're going to go with young players, how are they going to improve if they don't play against the best?”