Jack Wilshere’s first England goals were as spectacular as they were important, but he knows if he is to become one of the country’s top midfielders scoring needs to become a regular feature of his game

On the mark... Jack Wilshere scored his first goals for England on Sunday.

It took until Jack Wilshere’s 28th appearance for the Three Lions to open his account, but his goals in Slovenia were worth the wait.

With England behind to Milivoje Novakovic’s first-half goal, the 23-year-old unleashed a thunderous strike from the edge of the box to draw level in Ljubljana.

The Arsenal midfielder found the top left-hand corner again soon after to put Roy Hodgson’s men ahead, ending an exceptional team move with an even better effort after collecting a deft Adam Lallana flick.

Nejc Pecnik and Wayne Rooney completed the scoring as England ran out 3-2 victors in a thrilling encounter, continuing their 100 per cent record in Euro 2016 qualification.

“It is nice to get my first few goals for England but the main thing was continuing our unbeaten run,” Wilshere said.

“We have put a big marker down in the group to say we are serious about this. We are nearly there now.

“We have got a few more points to get but we feel we are in a really strong position.”

Wilshere’s focus on the team is honourable, but his own stunning contribution cannot be overlooked.

The midfielder admits his strikes are “up there” with his best ever goals and wants them just to be the start for club and country.

Put to him that they were a spectacular answer to those suggesting he does not score enough, Wilshere responded: “I wouldn’t say I’ve answered it completely.

“I scored a couple of goals, but I’ve been open in the past that I want to score more goals.

“I am happy with my goals and hopefully I can get a few more.

“If you look at the top midfielders in the past for England, like (Frank) Lampard, (Steven) Gerrard and (Paul) Scholes, they were always on the scoresheet.

“That is something I like to do and hopefully I can get a few more in the future.”

Wilshere certainly has a chance to do that in the rest of qualifying given England’s next match is in San Marino, offering Hodgson’s men the ideal chance to kick on after ending the season unbeaten for the first time in 24 years.

“It has been a fine campaign,” he said. “We wanted to respond after a disappointing World Cup.

“We wanted to become harder to beat, more ruthless and become a harder team to play against, and I think we’ve done that.

“I think it’s the first time in 29 years and that just shows the work we put in on the training pitch, the togetherness we’ve got here and hopefully we can continue that.”