Jesse Lingard says he could not stop smiling as he scored twice on his West Ham debut to fire David Moyes' side to an impressive 3-1 win at Aston Villa in the Premier League on Wednesday night; Lingard has not played for England since 2019
Thursday 4 February 2021 12:11, UK
David Moyes backed Jesse Lingard to resurrect his England career after his two goals on debut inspired West Ham to victory at Aston Villa.
The 28-year-old scored twice in front of watching England boss Gareth Southgate as the impressive Hammers claimed a deserved 3-1 win.
Lingard, who joined on loan from Manchester United last week, has not played for his country since 2019 having lost his position in Southgate's squad due to poor form and lack of game time at Old Trafford.
He played a key role when England reached the World Cup semi-final in 2018 - featuring in six of their seven games - and Moyes believes Lingard can force his way into Southgate's squad for the European Championships.
"If he keeps that form up then it might be Gareth coming knocking again," he said.
"He will have his own ambitions and challenges to show people he is at a level and he showed a really good level, Ross Barkley is very much the same for Villa.
"There are a lot of people who are pushing hard to make the England squad for the Euros and why shouldn't Jesse push if he's in the form he is in tonight?
"If he keeps playing as well as he did he will do a brilliant job for West Ham and if he keeps going like that then he'll get back into the England squad. I hope he can get back to that standard."
Lingard had not started a Premier League match for over a year.
"I was smiling before the game, during the game, I just love football and enjoy playing," he told the club's official website.
"It's been a long time. I enjoyed myself, and came out with two goals and three points, which was the most important thing.
"We worked hard as a collective to get the result and we're just focused on the next game, which is Fulham on Saturday.
"The team has been great with me and I've settled in quickly. I know some familiar faces, which has helped, and as long as we work hard on the training ground and on matchday (we'll get more results like this).
"In training we've had that connection as well and I feel like I've bedded in quickly, so come the matchday it's easy to play with Michail (Antonio). As a team and as a collective we worked hard and that showed."
