The Fulham midfielder felt he should have scored “a couple more” before his late strike, but this was another commanding performance in the middle of the park from the 22-year-old.

More and more used to the big stage, he has already faced Liverpool, Manchester United and Chelsea since his summer switch from Southampton to Craven Cottage.

The Manchester City youth product believes coming up against the likes of Rodri, Sandro Tonali and Christian Eriksen during his international career has eased his transition into the top flight.

“It’s helped me a lot,” Shea said.

“I remember when we played the Spain game [in June 2024], I said these are the kind of people you play against in the Premier League, so it’s all experience.

“I feel really good and I think our team as well is in a really good place. Everyone’s getting a lot of minutes at club level so when we’re coming here we’re only getting stronger every time.”

There will be little rest for the group as, after flying home in the early hours of Saturday morning, they face Hungary at Windsor Park on Monday night in what is the second fixture of this four-game window.

A first game in Belfast since November, and one that will be shown live across the BBC, the older Charles brother is keen to harness the momentum of a rare away win when returning to home soil.

“I think it just sets us up really well for the Hungary game on Monday. This is really exciting and hopefully we can push on,” Shea added.

“Everyone’s buzzing and can’t wait to get back to Belfast and just try and get the win there.”