Vardy: We're All In This Together

- Gareth Bale put Wales in front, but Vardy and Daniel Sturridge earned England a 2-1 win after coming on at half time 

- Vardy is the first Leicester City player to score for England in a major tournament 

- England need a point in their final Group B game against Slovakia to guarantee progress to the knockout stages 

Leicester City striker Jamie Vardy was happy to play his part for England on Thursday afternoon after coming off the bench to inspire a 2-1 Euro 2016 victory over Wales. 

With Gareth Bale having put Wales into a 1-0 lead with a long range free kick just before the break, England’s hopes of advancing to the knockout stages were looking in danger, but a double substitution from Roy Hodgson at half time made a huge impact. 

Vardy and Daniel Sturridge replaced Harry Kane and Raheem Sterling and within 10 minutes, the Leicester striker produced an excellent close range finish to level the scores and in the process become the only City player to ever score for England in a major tournament. 

He was again involved deep into second half stoppage time as some intricate play gave Sturridge the chance to win it for England – one he took brilliantly. 

That win moved England to the top of Group B, needing a point against Slovakia on Monday night to guarantee progress into the knockout stages. 

“I think everyone wants to be a part of the starting line up but it’s a team game, there’s 23 of us and we’re all in this together,” Vardy told media after the match. 

“So to come off the bench you want to try to make an impact, and thankfully I did today. 

“We thought we were playing well and the message [at half time] was simple; to carry on what we have been doing and hope that the goals were going to come, and today they have.” 

It was a fantastic atmosphere inside the stadium in Lens, and Vardy hopes that the support from the Three Lions fans can help them again when they take on Slovakia. 

He added: “It’s good wherever we play, our fans, they’re brilliant, nice and loud and sometimes they can be the 12th man. 

“We’ll go back onto the training pitch now and look forward to Slovakia. 

“We just want to take each game as it comes. We’ve got the win today and hopefully next game we’ll get another win to top the group.”