Facing Brazil a ´great experience´, admits grounded Gomez

Joe Gomez was able to reflect on a “great experience” after marking his first England start with a man-of-the-match performance in the 0-0 draw with Brazil.

The Liverpool defender followed up his debut off the bench in last Friday’s stalemate against Germany by helping Gareth Southgate’s injury-hit side keep the five-time world champions at bay at Wembley on Tuesday.

Gomez has mainly been used at right-back for his club this season yet looked completely at home occupying one of the three central roles in England’s new-look 3-5-2 formation.

Now, the 20-year-old is aiming to maintain the same lofty standards on a consistent basis in the hope it leads to further international opportunities in the future.

“For someone like me it’s a great experience to play at this level against a team like Brazil with the individuals they have,” the defender told ITV Sport.

“We are happy with the clean sheet. It’s a team effort – the whole team, defensively, put in a good shift. I’m happy with that.

“It’s special for me – it’s a great honour to play for England at this level. I’ve just got to aim to keep playing and improve each day then hopefully opportunities will come.”

A fantastic full debut from @J_Gomez97 pic.twitter.com/XXfMl2vMub

— England (@England) November 14, 2017

England team-mate Joe Hart praised Gomez and the rest of the defence for stifling a Brazil side that had waltzed through the CONMEBOL section to qualify for next year’s World Cup in Russia.

“I thought the defensive backline were phenomenal,” the West Ham goalkeeper told ITV Sport.

“I cannot speak highly enough of his [Gomez’s] performance. He’s played against one of the hottest players in the world [in Neymar] and has done really, really well against him.

“It’s not a win – but it’s a great performance. We’ve played against the two best teams in the world and while we didn’t win, we also didn’t lose.”

Hart was restored to the starting XI for the Brazil fixture after Jordan Pickford had impressed on debut in the 0-0 draw with Germany.

“I’m made up for how Jordan played. It was a really good trip for people like Jordan, Joe, Tammy [Abraham], Ruben [Loftus-Cheek] and even Dom [Solanke] coming on at the end. It’s great for boys like that,” Hart added.

“I’m pleased for them because I want England to do well in the future. I love getting to play too, so when I play I try my best.”