‘Now I want to get a seat on the plane’

way he plays, he’s not hugely confident at times. Tonight it took him 10 minutes to have a look around him and say he could do this.

‘ He’s got so many good attributes, top attributes, and that’s why he’s in the team.

‘The wider public might not be as aware of him — you’d have to follow him closely — but we believe in him and the others we played. I’m not surprised.’

Everton goalkeeper Jordan Pickford made a number of excellent saves on his senior debut and Southgate was hugely impressed by his team’s efforts.

‘They’ve shown that in the younger ages and in training,’ he said.

‘There’s been an energy about the group. It seemed a bit messy with loads of pull-outs, but it’s been really tight. The performance was encouraging.’

Speaking after his man-of-thematch display, Loftus- Cheek said he believes he’s in with a chance of gatecrashing Southgate’s World Cup party.

‘I certainly learned a lot in this game. (Southgate) just said, “Do your best like you normally do”,’ said the midfielder.

‘I had Gareth for nearly three years in the Under 21s so it wasn’t too much of a new thing coming here.

‘To go to the World Cup, it’s still a long season and I look to improve, so I think there’s a chance. I have to keep getting better, and hopefully there’s a chance to get on the plane.’

Loftus - Cheek certainly impressed former England striker Ian Wright.

Speaking as a pundit on ITV, Wright questioned why Chelsea had spent £40million to sign Tiemoue Bakayoko from Monaco while sending LoftusCheek out on loan.

‘I watched Bakayoko the other day playing further forward against Manchester United, and he never did anything in that game that made me think he’s a better player than LoftusCheek,’ said the former Arsenal striker.

‘Now, I’m not knocking Chel- sea because Chelsea can do whatever they want but surely you’ve got to give the guy a chance. I’ve seen him and he’s better than Bakayoko for me.’

Phil Jones limped off with a thigh injury midway through the second half and could miss Tuesday’s friendly against Brazil, though Southgate is hopeful that the Manchester United defender’s problem is not serious.

Norwich goalkeeper Angus Gunn, on loan from Manchester City, will join up with the senior squad as cover for Jack Butland, who broke his finger in training on Thursday.

Gunn kept a clean sheet yesterday in England Under 21’s win in Ukraine.