Monday 22 June 2015 14:48, UK
England U21 winger Jesse Lingard praised the squad's spirit and togetherness after they recorded their first European Championship finals’ victory in six years on Sunday.
After a defeat to Portugal in their first match of the tournament, Gareth Southgate's side sneaked past Sweden 1-0 in their second group-stage game in the Czech Republic.
England knew they had to beat the Swedes to avoid being knocked out at the group stage for the third consecutive tournament and they did so thanks to substitute Lingard's 85th-minute strike.
"We're a tight-knit squad and everyone from the bench made an impact, everyone who started gave us encouragement when we came on the pitch. So nobody out of the camp really knows what we're about and it showed today," Lingard said.
Lingard came off the bench to replace the injured Alex Pritchard to score the winner with a well-taken volley which sparked wild celebrations from the England players.
"To be fair, at first I was going to go in the box but Nathan Redmond said stay out of the box," Lingard said.
"I was free on the edge of the box, the ball has come to me and as soon as it came to me I knew to hit it.
"It was just a massive relief for everyone in the camp.”
The Manchester United winger, who spent last season on loan at Championship side Derby, was also impressed with Sweden’s performance.
"They were well organised, pressing the ball for near enough the whole 90 minutes," Lingard said.
England are currently second in Group B and another three points in their final group-stage match against Italy on Wednesday would see them progress through to the semi-finals.
"It will be a tougher game than we faced today but I think we've got it in us to win," Lingard said.
"We've come from a 0-0 to win with a last-ditch goal and we can do it again against Italy."
