Jermain Defoe was pleased to score on his 50th England cap against Moldova

Jermain Defoe said it was 'fantastic' to score on his 50th England cap after he was selected to start the 5-0 World Cup qualifying win over Moldova.

The Tottenham Hotspur striker rewarded Roy Hodgson's decision to start him ahead of Danny Welbeck and Daniel Sturridge by notching England's third goal before half-time.

Defoe was pleased with his own performance and that of England which ensured an impressive start on the road towards Brazil.

"It's obviously nice to get a start and a 50th cap. It's a great night for me," Defoe told Sky Sports News.

"It was a good win at the end. It was important to win the game and be patient.

"The early goal helped and to get a goal as well was fantastic."

Asked what the key to their successful display was, Defoe said: "The movement was good. We had a good training week - we've worked on certain movements in training. And everything the manager wanted in training we've done it so it was good.

"I thought the lads did fantastic. Leighton Baines came in and got his goal. I thought he was fantastic as well.

"But the overall performance - everyone has played their part.

"Sometimes people look at the game and they think it's going to be easy. But I think the key thing for us was to get the early goal and then we can pass it.

"Lamps got the second goal and after that it was quite good."