But first faces a fight to earn his spurs

the dour 1-0 win in Vilnius. And it has fuelled his ambitions to gatecrash Southgate’s party for next summer’s finals in Russia.

Winks’ big problem, however, is establishing a regular starting place in Tottenham’s midfield.

Mauricio Pochettino may describe him as his “little Iniesta” because of his technical skill and Spanish ancestry, but he still has Christian Eriksen, Eric Dier, Victor Wanyama and Moussa Dembele in front of him in a congested battle for midfield places.

He added: “It is a dream to go to a World Cup, it is any player’s dream. But I will take it one step at a time.”

Winks’ debut strengthened the Spurs connection with the national side. He was one of four Tottenham players in the team and of the last 29 England debutants, he was the 15th to have been coached by Pochettino. No wonder Southgate described the Spurs boss last week as “England’s secret weapon”.

But Winks was not the only debutant to catch the eye in Vilnius, with Harry Maguire’s roller-coaster year carrying him towards Russia.

The central defender has experienced the devastation of last-day relegation with Hull, the excitement of a £15million move to Leicester and the pride of winning a first England cap. And Southgate’s vow to continue with a back three can only improve his chances of making the finals.

Maguire, 24, said: “It has been a great year – an up-and-down one with Hull getting relegated then signing for Leicester. Now it’s a dream come true to make my debut for England. It has been a positive qualifying campaign in the end. We haven’t conceded many goals. We’ve obviously got things to work on, but we’re building.

“You can control possession a bit more with a back three. It’s something we can work on and get better at. Hopefully when we do, it’s going to be an asset to us.”