Reece James explains non-celebration after brilliant first England goal | Football

Reece James scored a fantastic first goal of his England career against Latvia on Monday night, although he didn’t look overly thrilled about it.

The Chelsea star opened the scoring in the 3-0 win at Wembley and he will not forget his stunning strike any time soon.

James lined up a free-kick from around 25 yards out and curled it round the wall and into the top corner, getting incredible spin on the ball at the pace he hit it.

It was a dream moment for any player but the 25-year-old was very understated in his celebration, calmly taking a pat on the back from his teammates with little more than a clenched fist to demonstrate he had pulled off the stunning bit of skill.

Asked about his ‘relaxed’ celebration on ITV, James said: ‘Yeah I was a bit surprised it actually hit the net.

‘I thought the keeper could have maybe got there but looking at the replay it was probably tough.’

He added: ‘I saw the wall and I felt I could bend it round and thankfully I managed to hit the back of the net.’

James was definitely being hard on himself with that assessment as it would have been an unbelievable save if the goalkeeper had pulled it off.

The full-back was making his first England start for two and a half years, in a time which has seen him badly hampered by injuries.

There has also been great competition at right-back for England, but with his former Chelsea boss Thomas Tuchel now in charge, it could be his time to shine for the Three Lions.

‘Its been a long time, I’ve had a frustrating two and a half years,’ he said.

‘I’m happy to get called up for my country again and I’m happy to play.’

Tuchel was delighted for James and clearly feels that he will be a big player for him if he can stay fit.

‘I know Reecey and I know the quality that the boy has is amazing,’ said the Three Lions boss. ‘He has every right to be proud and happy and satisfied with his performance.

‘I think he’s in excellent shape. When we called him up we knew he had no so many games but it was not due to injury it was they [Chelsea] just took care of him and managed him. He looks sharp, looks in shape and the quality there cannot be any doubt.’

Tuchel has just started his time as England boss, with two wins from two over Albania and now Latvia as the Three Lions head to the top of their World Cup qualifying group.

James says he has made his target clear to them, which sounds like it is to win the World Cup next year.

‘His ideas are clear, his goals and his targets, he set them out from the minute he came in,’ said James. ‘We have one objective, our objective starts this international and we need to keep on building right the way to the World Cup.’

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