Leicester City defender posts heartfelt message after England debut vs Hungary

Leicester City defender James Justin described making his England debut against Hungary as an 'unforgettable moment' and thanked everyone for their support along the way.

The 24-year-old was playing in League Two as recently as four years ago for Luton Town before securing back-to-back promotions to take the Hatters back to the Championship for the first time since 2007. City signed the full-back before Justin had a chance to play in the second-tier and saw him jump a division to the Premier League.

That meteoric rise has been capped by a call-up to the senior England squad this summer. Despite being substituted at half-time of the Nations League group game at the Puskás Aréna in Budapest, that rightly did not dull the 'absolute honour'.

"An absolute honour to make my senior England debut last night," Justin tweeted. "Thank you for the support everyone has shown me on the journey to get to this unforgettable moment!"

It may well be an honour that Justin experiences again and again as, according to Michael Owen, Justin has a "great advantage" over other defenders in Southgate's thoughts. "If you can play both sides, then it’s a great advantage," Owen said during the pre-match coverage.

"If Gareth Southgate was asking, 'what do you prefer?' I’d be saying I prefer the left. The right-back, right wing-back is the strongest area in this England team, but left-back, there’s an opportunity. There is great players like Shaw, Chilwell, but (if) they get injured, lack of form, there could be an opportunity if he grasps it."