Striker on his international debut for Wales...
Walsall striker Tom Bradshaw has described his international debut as an “unbelievable experience”.The 23-year-old earned his first senior cap for Wales as a 72nd-minute substitute in their 1-0 friendly defeat against Ukraine in Kiev.
The Shrewsbury-born forward made a lively cameo appearance and almost grabbed a dream debut goal in stoppage-time with a header which was saved by Andriy Pyatov.
“It was an unbelievable experience just to be involved with the squad going into the Euros,” said Bradshaw, who is the Saddlers’ 18-goal top scorer.
“It was great to be with the lads and to train with them. To come on was a bonus.
“I didn’t train until Saturday because of a slight hamstring issue but I’d heard in interviews with the gaffer that he was going to try to get me on.
“I was confident going into the game and then when he brought me on, it was just a great experience.
“In the 18 minutes I played I tried to do everything I could. I worked hard and tried to get on the ball. I felt like I did everything I could in the time I was given.
“It would have been nice to get a goal but I was just happy to get on the pitch and to do myself justice.”
Walsall head coach Jon Whitney added: “I’m so pleased for him. His family are really proud of him, but we are as well as we’ve seen what he’s done since he’s come here from Shrewsbury.
“It’s a credit to him and he deserves his rewards.
“I thought he did well and he’s probably put himself in contention. He had a couple of half chances and he applied himself really well in the 20 minutes he was on.”