Hersham's Luke Shaw has backed England U21s to finish the job of securing European Championship qualification.

The 19-year-old made a winning return to Gareth Southgate's squad in helping the Three Lions to a 2-1 victory over Croatia in the first leg of their qualification play-off at Wolverhampton Wanderers' Molineux home on Friday night.

The Manchester United defender, who featured for the senior squad in the 2014 FIFA World Cup, is expected to play when England travel to Vinkovci on Tuesday for the second leg.

And the former Rydens School student believes they are in a good position to secure their place on the plane to the Czech Republic next summer.

 

"It’s a really good performance from everyone tonight and I’m pleased to have been involved in it," he said.

"The main thing we wanted was a victory, but it’s a shame we didn’t get a clean sheet too.

"We talked about that a lot during the week, we knew they were dangerous from set pieces so it was a lack of concentration and we conceded.

"The lads were quality though and we brought it back in the second half."

He added: "We’re now in a positive mood going out there and the lads are all confident.

"We got the two goals and now we need to go there and play the same way again.

"The spirit [in the squad] is unbelievable and this week has shown that to me.

"I think everyone’s in a positive mood and we’ve got to focus on the game on Tuesday."