The Manchester United defender was back in Gareth Southgate’s squad for the first time since last November, having since made his senior debut and featured in the 2014 FIFA World Cup.
England U21s 2-1 Croatia U21s
UEFA Euro U21 Championship
Play-off first leg
5.45pm, Friday 10 October 2014
Molineux, Wolverhampton Wanderers
Live on BT Sport
And the 19-year-old put in an impressive display from left-back as the Three Lions took a one-goal lead from the first leg of the play-off.
"It’s a really good performance from everyone tonight and I’m pleased to have been involved in it," he said.
"The main thing we wanted was a victory, but it’s a shame we didn’t get a clean sheet too.
"We talked about that a lot during the week, we knew they were dangerous from set pieces so it was a lack of concentration and we conceded.
"The lads were quality though and we brought it back in the second half."
Despite their performance at home, England now know they need to repeat that again in the reverse fixture in Vinkovci on Tuesday.
But the former Southampton youngster believes there are plenty of reasons for the squad to be confident ahead of the game.
"We’re now in a positive mood going out there and the lads are all confident," he added.
"We got the two goals and now we need to go there and play the same way again.
"The spirit [in the squad] is unbelievable and this week has shown that to me.
"I think everyone’s in a positive mood and we’ve got to focus on the game on Tuesday and we’ve got a few days now to prepare for it."
