England put in a marvellous performance in the UEFA Nations League on Monday night to beat Spain 3-2 at their home.
Incredibly, they were 3-0 up at half-time but had to weather a storm in the second-half to hold on for the three points.
Talking on the Sky Sports Live coverage of the game (Sky Sports, Monday, 7pm), Jamie Redknapp said England were “fantastic” but reserved special praise for Tottenham youngster Harry Winks.
“I think about the two midfield players, Harry Winks and Ross Barkley,” Redknapp said, “and they haven’t had many minutes in the Premier League.
“I couldn’t wait to see how they’d do tonight and they were both brilliant. They were different class the way they held the ball up, the way they passed it.
“Harry Winks was even even involved in some altercations with the Spanish players. He didn’t care, he showed no respect for them and that’s what you’ve got to do.”
OPINION
Winks is getting back to his very best and showed in the 3-2 win why Tottenham fans rate him so highly. It’s taken him a while to get back from injury but he showed on Monday night why he could be such a special talent for club and country. He also showed how much the game meant to him and Redknapp was right when he said that he showed the Spanish team no respect. In one incident, after Jordan Pickford had almost given away a penalty, he stood up to the opposition players, leading Redknapp to say, “Look at Winks, he’s fighting them all off”. The passion from Winks and other England players was a really refreshing change after so many years of listless performances from England. It was a joy to watch and with Winks and other young England players coming through the ranks, there’s a feeling that Gareth Southgate could be building something special.