Harwood-Bellis reflects on ‘magical’ England debut which saw him score header

Taylor Harwood-Bellis enjoyed the biggest night of his career as he scored on his England debut… but risked his upcoming wedding to Roy Keane's daughter.

Southampton centre-back Harwood-Bellis came off the bench to score on his international bow to round off England's resounding victory over the Republic of Ireland.

The defender is engaged to Sky Sports pundit Keane's daughter Leah and following his future son-in-law's debut, the former Republic of Ireland midfielder joked: 'It's (the wedding) not done and dusted yet.'

Former Manchester United captain Keane was of course joking, adding: 'Over the last few months he has certainly been a goal threat for Southampton, which is nice for him.

'It's great for him to make his debut. He's a nice guy, his family has done a great job.”

Harwood-Bellis herself said: “It's a great day for me and my family. It's every young child's dream to make their debut, and scoring the goal is magical.

“I had a few hints yesterday that I would be needed at some point, but when I got the nod to come I was over the moon.

“There is always a path and we young people, we believe we can get to the seniors. We know the door is open if we take our chances. I have to thank Lee [Carsley] because he called me and I rewarded him with a nice goal.

'Playing for my country at every level is something I am so proud of. Playing for the seniors is something you dream about, it is the pinnacle of football, doing it and scoring is a feeling.'

Meanwhile, captain Harry Kane, who scored England's opener from the spot, paid tribute to interim boss Carsley after his last game in charge prior to the arrival of Thomas Tuchel in January.

“He's been top notch, him and all the staff,” Kane said.

'After the European Championship it would never have been easy to move straight on to the Nations League and sometimes the motivation is a little less.

“I'm really happy that we won today and ended on a high.”