Curtis Jones has been widely praised after producing ‘one of the best England debuts ever’ with his superb individual display against Greece.
Needing to bounce back after their shock defeat at Wembley last month, Lee Carsley’s side saw their build-up hampered by a slew of withdrawals from several key players.
Those injuries, however, afforded England an opportunity to give new faces a chance in Athens, with Curtis Jones and Lewis Hall making their maiden senior appearances.
And it was the Liverpool midfielder who took his opportunity with both hands, producing a commanding display in the midfield alongside Conor Gallagher.
The 23-year-old has blossomed in recent months under Arne Slot at club level and wrapped off his maiden England start in style with a cute late flick to bring up England’s third goal as they romped to a convincing 3-0 away win.
The goal made Jones the first Liverpool player to score on his England debut in 42 years and Micah Richards was keen to give the midfielder his plaudits.
‘We don’t really produce the player who can play in that pivot role, Angel Gomes played there and did very well at times, but Curtis Jones was extraordinary,’ the former England defender said on The Rest Is Football.
‘That’s one of the best England debuts I’ve ever seen. When you go to England sometimes the pace is a bit slower and you play the easy pass. If you look at Curtis Jones, his body positions, he was always available for the ball every time.
‘And when you play in that position in a pivot, number six, you don’t always have to be dribbling past people, breaking the lines and playing that fantastic pass, it’s just being available for the ball.
‘And I think, him in that role, in terms of just being that person who is not afraid to just get on it, I thought it showed me his character and how fearless he is.’
Richards continued: ‘I spoke to Daniel Sturridge about him and he said he’s one of the best technical players he’s ever played with and now you’re starting to see it on a regular basis.
‘I think the confidence from Liverpool is obviously helping him but going into internationals, he really felt like he was at home.’
Speaking at full-time, Jones was keen to praise his teammates for giving him the confidence and freedom to thrive in the middle of the park.
‘The lads around helped as well,’ he told ITV. ‘I just went out there and I was playing free. I had a smile on my face, I was enjoying it and I’m happy that I came away with a goal.
‘When you’ve got a team like ours, I can go high, I can come low, I can get on the ball and play – there’s lads there to help. Jude stayed back, so I had a chance and lucky enough I scored.’
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