Kalvin Phillips was on the scoresheet for England as the Manchester City man scored his first goal of the campaign at the end of a long season.
The Three Lions swept North Macedonia aside with a 7-0 thrashing at Old Trafford as they took another step closer towards qualifying for Euro 2024. England sit top of Group C with maximum points after four games.
Bukayo Saka bagged a hat-trick and took home the match ball, while there was a brace for captain Harry Kane, including one from the penalty spot. Manchester United's Marcus Rashford was also on the scoresheet.
And City midfielder Phillips came off the bench to net the sixth goal of the evening. He slotted home in the second half from close range after the ball was knocked down to him from a cross.
READ MORE: FA change Community Shield time after Man City fans announce boycott
Though Phillips has won the Treble with City, it has been a challenging campaign at times for the former Leeds United man. He made only 21 appearances for City in his first season at the Etihad Stadium, but the bulk of these appearances came off the bench.
He was also singled out by boss Pep Guardiola after returning from the World Cup overweight. Next season, Phillips will be aiming to make more of an impact at City and get into Guardiola's starting team on a more regular basis.
And Liverpool legend Steven Gerrard believes the goal will give Phillips motivation to return for City's pre-season following a "frustrating" campaign. He believes a good campaign with the Blues will set him up for being in Gareth Southgate's plans next summer for Euro 2024.
Gerrard said: "I think that will give him the motivation as well to come back and have a good pre-season. He will have had a frustrating season, but we all know he has high-class quality.
"We all know he will be desperate to go to the Euros next year and he will do that by having a fantastic season with Manchester City."
Former Chelsea man Joe Cole echoed Gerrard's comments and believes keeping his fitness will be key to his England chances. He believes the goal for the Three Lions was a special moment for the City midfielder.
He said: "It’ll be a special night for Kalvin (Phillips). He has had a difficult time with injuries and he is one that Gareth (Southgate) will always look to, and he looked good tonight.
"He just needs to keep fit, and all he does is gambles - it’s a lovely ball from (Jack) Grealish and he will never get an easier goal in his career. It just put the cherry on top for someone to get their first goal and another popular member of the squad."
