RICKIE Lambert described his England debut as a “dream come true”, as the Saints forward netted the winner against Scotland with his first touch.

Lambert, who was called up by Roy Hodgson last week, powered home a 70th minute header just moments after coming on as a substitute to earn the hosts a thrilling 3-2 victory at Wembley.

After scoring, the 31-year-old’s face was a picture of both joy and disbelief, as he tore away in celebration.

“I couldn’t have wished for it to go any better,” said Lambert, who was beaming from ear-to-ear in the stadium’s interview zone after the match.

“For it to go like that was a dream come true.

“I hope it’s not, but if that’s the only moment I have in an England shirt, I couldn’t have wished for it to be any better.

“For it to have gone like that is beyond my wildest dreams.

“The whole 20 minutes was beyond a dream.”

There is little doubt that Lambert needed to make an impression on his debut if he is to retain his place in the squad, and the Saints striker is confident he did just that.

“It’s been a whirlwind, it’s been hard to try and be calm and not let it affect me, and try and be cool, but obviously deep down it means so much to me,”

he explained. The main thing I wanted to do was try and do well and impress, and hopefully I’ve done that.

“I’ve tasted it now and I want more, so I will be trying my best to do well for Southampton and hopefully that will get me another chance.

“But if that’s my only call-up I couldn’t have hoped for it to go any better.”

With the World Cup now less than a year away, Lambert is hoping this could be the start of a magical journey to Brazil.

“I have always dreamed of getting to a major tournament and that’s what I’ll be trying to do now,” he said.

Speaking of his goal, he added: “It’s probably the best header I’ve headed in all my life. It was terrific ball by Bainesy [Leighton Baines].

“I’ve managed to lose my marker and I’ve caught it sweet. To see it hit the back of the net was unbelievable.”

Lambert also issued thanks to his England teammates for making him feel so welcome in his first call-up.

“They’ve been terrific since the second I came in, they made me feel welcome and when I walked into the dressing room they all come over and said well done and congratulated me,” he said.