Tottenham Hotspur winger Andros Townsend was pleased to silence his critics after scoring the equaliser for England against Italy last night.

England were trailing Italy through a Graziano Pelle goal when Townsend replaced Aston Villa midfielder Fabian Delph in the 70th minute.




His 20-yard strike eleven minutes from full-time allowed England to earn a deserved draw against the home side at the Juventus Stadium last night.

Roy Hodgson faced criticism for naming Townsend in the squad as the Tottenham winger was going through a lean patch at club level and many felt he didn’t deserve a recall to the national team.
 


However, last night’s goal was Townsend’s way of responding to his critics and he said that he has hopefully shown what qualities he brings to the England set-up.

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The winger admits that as soon as the goal went in he was thinking about the people who questioned his place in the England squad and he is hopeful that his performance will keep them at bay for a while.

"I have just been desperate to get on the pitch and silence a few critics," Townsend was quoted as saying by the BBC.

"Hopefully they can realise the quality I bring to the team.

"I have been thinking about it all week. As soon as the goal went in, I was thinking of all the people questioning my call-ups and saying I should be nowhere near the England squad."

The strike in Italy was Townsend’s third goal in seven appearances for England.

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