It’s a great feeling to get a hat-trick and it was a brilliant start for both the team and me personally.
Especially with it coming against Germany too, because there’s a bit of a rivalry and everyone before the game was saying how big it was.
So it was a brilliant start for us, in what was quite a tough game. They were right on top of us and getting in our faces and even after we got the early goal, they nicked one back.
Our reaction was really good as a team though, to get two quick goals after they scored and that put us in the ascendancy.
Ironically, I scored a hat-trick in the first game of the last World Cup in Argentina, when we beat Japan by 11-0. And now we’re preparing to play Japan on Wednesday in our next game.
We’re not expecting a similar outcome this time though, they’ve changed things a bit since two years ago in terms of the players and they’re a bit tighter at the back and trying not to concede as many goals.
We just need to play the way we can, keep the ball and create chances and hopefully we’ll get a good result again before we play Brazil on Friday to try and reach the quarter finals.
Two years ago in Argentina, we finished fourth so our ambition is to do better than that. We know it will be tough, but every tournament is tough.
If we get through to the quarter final, it’s likely we’ll play either Iran or USA and after seeing their first games, they’re two very good sides.
We just need to stick together as a team and work hard and then when the game comes around, we’ll go for it again and see if we can get to the semis again.
But the mood in the squad is good, everyone’s happy and enjoying themselves. We’re all on the same page and know what we’re here to do.
Getting here proved to be a little longer for me, as I’ve been living in Australia for the last year and a half and working in an office in Brisbane for Equifax.
I went on a working holiday visa for an initial year, but after finding the job, I can stay for another year and I’m on that now. Being based out there has meant I haven’t been able to make the England training camps in the last year, but I’ve been playing football out in Australia for FC Corina.
It’s not para football and it’s a decent standard, so that’s kept me in shape and sharp for this competition and after a nine-hour delay at Singapore airport on my journey here, it’s all been worth it.
As soon as I arrived, I was on the end of some banter from the lads with our captain Matt Crossen saying that we’ve all come through something to get to where we are, whether that’s being born with a disability, or even some people who have had to play for Scotland…
That’s right, I’m from Scotland, and I played a few games for them before the 2016 Paralympics so I do get quite a bit of banter.
FIND OUT MORE ABOUT DISABILITY FOOTBALL IN ENGLANDBut my grandad was English, so he’d be proud and my whole family are proud of what I’ve achieved too.
I’m affected by CP in my right-hand side and that was when I first got involved in para football, as a friend who played for Scotland invited me along.
Then, Andy Smith, a Scot himself, invited me to come and train with Team GB and then took me to Rio for the 2016 Paralympics, which was an amazing experience.
I got on well with all the English lads out there, it was a great set up and I really enjoyed it so when Andy asked me to come and play for England, I haven’t looked back since and I’ve loved it.
We’ve been to some amazing places such as Brazil, Argentina and now Spain and it’s really enjoyable, but you know you need to have a serious head on too when the games and training comes around and that’s the zone we’re in now.
