The Everton full-back headed home the Young Lions' first during the 3-2 win over Poland on Saturday, taking his tally to three in his last three games for his country.
The 17-year-old has always possessed a threat in attack for his club, notching several goals each season for the Toffees youth side, but it has only been this season that has seen him break his duck for his country. And he reckons he knows what the key to it is.
Poland 2-3 England
U18 international
Saturday 15 November 2014
Gdynia City Stadium
“Lately I’ve been getting on the scoresheet, so it’s going well for me,” he told TheFA.com.
“This year with England, I’ve been sharing a room with Arma [Adam Armstrong]. He’s a good lad and he’s been giving me a bit of advice on putting the ball in the net.
"He’s scored a lot of goals himself over the last few months, so I’ve just been trying to follow him.
“He was different class against Poland, and he has been in his last few games for England. He’s improved over the years and deserves to be in and around Newcastle’s first-team.”
He added: “Getting more goals for England wasn’t really a target. I’ve been scoring over the last few years for my club, and it’s something I want to keep up as I get older. But it’s nice to get a few for your country.”
And looking back at Saturday’s game, not only was Connolly pleased with his own exploits, he was delighted that he and his team-mates were able to turn on the style in the second-half to bounce back after falling behind.
Connolly scored two against Holland in September
“In the first half we weren’t the best. I’m not sure whether it was nerves, or a lack of focus on the free kick they scored from, but at half-time the gaffer spoke to us and got us hyped up,” he said.
“We all knew what our jobs were, and every one of us had the determination and desire to go on and win it, and we did that.
“We were different class for twenty minutes. We had them on the back foot for most of the match, but in that spell we really made it count and got a couple of goals.
“It was disappointing to concede another goal late on. As a defender you want to keep clean sheets, but most importantly the win is what’s important.”
Good win against Poland tonight, happy to get on the scoresheet again 👍⚽️
— Callum Connolly (@connolly1997) November 15, 2014
And on to Monday’s second match with Poland, the defender says he is hungry for another win – and he confident of getting his name on the score sheet again.
“We need to keep our focus and take what chances we create – we want another win.
“And I wouldn’t mind another goal too. It’s on the cards, so I’d advise anyone to back me scoring!”
You can follow all the updates from Poland v England on Monday by following @England on Twitter.
