
Kieran Trippier hopes his experience with England at the World Cup will help him to kick on with Tottenham this season.
The defender scored a stunning free-kick as Spurs beat Fulham 3-1 at Wembley on Saturday, making it two wins out of two for the Londoners in the Premier League so far this season.
After scoring a similarly spectacular free-kick for England against Croatia in the Three Lions’ World Cup semi-final defeat, Trippier has said his journey in Russia was good for both him and Spurs.
“I was delighted to play at the World Cup, it’s crazy what a year can do because I only made my debut for England last year and a year later I am playing in a World Cup,” he said (via Sky Sports).
“I learnt a lot about myself, it gave me a lot of confidence and I am happy to come back with more experience.
“Hopefully I can put that to good use by playing as many games as I can for Tottenham this season and helping the team out.”
Trippier’s goal against Fulham came at a vital time. Fulham had equalised and were beginning to look dominant before Trippier’s brilliant strike handed the advantage back to the hosts.
“Some of the boys saw me shaping up to take it and said, ‘Is it not a bit too far out?'” Trippier added.
“That made me question my decision and think, ‘Is it a bit too far out?’ But the decision had already been made and I tried to block the keeper’s view as much as possible by telling the boys to get in the wall.
“I am happy it went in. I think it was a crucial time to get a goal, no matter who scored it, because they were getting on top of the game.
“They had scored and gained a lot of momentum, but I think my goal threw them a bit. It was a massive goal in terms of the game.”
Christian Eriksen is usually Tottenham’s direct free-kick taker, but the Dane has failed to score from one since netting two in the same game against Swansea City in October 2015.
Trippier now has the advantage over Eriksen when it comes to deciding who takes the next one. It will be interesting to see if the right-back takes over the responsibility on a full-time basis this term.