Reece James has explained why he did not celebrate his first goal after a beautiful free-kick opened the scoring for England against Latvia on Tuesday (25/3) which ended with a score of 3-0.
The match marked the right-back’s first appearance for the country since 2022. He capped it off with a fine goal in the 38th minute of the first half.
It was a superb way to return to the Three Lions’ starting line-up after a few years of struggling with injuries that have plagued his career. He appeared to hold back his celebrations as the ball hit the back of the net.
Despite being mobbed by his teammates afterwards in celebration, he remained calm and explained his reasons in the post-match interview.
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After the Chelsea captain’s opener, the Three Lions continued to hammer Latvia with goals from Harry Kane and Eberechi Eze finishing off the game in style for Thomas Tuchel’s second win since taking over as head coach.
The free kick was the talk of many people including football fans and pundits. At first he was surprised to see the ball go into the goal and thought the goalkeeper could block the kick.
Quoting from Givemesport, which quoted an ITV interview, he answered about his beautiful goal without celebration.
“I saw the wall (free-kick wall) and I felt I could turn it (the ball) and fortunately, I managed to hit the back of the net,” said Reece James.
“I was a bit surprised it actually went in the net. I thought the keeper might have got there (to keep it out), but you know, when you look at the replay, it’s probably difficult (for the keeper to stop it),” replied Reece James, the 25-year-old defender.
