Gareth Southgate hailed Jesse Lingard after the Manchester United midfielder stepped off the bench to fire England Under-21s past Sweden at the European Championship.
For a long time it looked like the young Lions would fall short in Olomouc, having struggled to respond to defeat in their Group B opener against Portugal.
But just as Southgate's men seemed to be running out ideas, their hopes of progression got a timely shot in the arm as Lingard fired home an 85th-minute volley to secure a somewhat fortuitous 1-0 win.
It was the Under-21s' first finals victory in six years and boosted their chances of securing a top-two finish ahead of Wednesday's group finale against Italy.
Southgate was quick to praise his match-winner Lingard, who came on for Alex Pritchard after 55 minutes.
It has been a difficult season for the 22-year-old, having sustained a serious knee injury in United's season opener against Swansea.
It took him six months to return and had to do so in the Championship, ending the season on loan with Derby.
"He's an intelligent footballer," said Southgate, who was joined in the dressing room after the match by senior team manager Roy Hodgson.
"He's got very clean feet, sharp coming in from the lane, good movement. He's more the kind of wide player who's going to play and follow, but he's also got a goal in him because he's a calm finisher.
"He's been a player at United since very young, physically a late developer and they've had to wait for him.
"He started the first game of the season for United's first team and got a really bad injury. We kept contact with him and made sure he stayed part of the group."
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