Gareth Southgate praised the influence of Jermain Defoe following his return to the England setup.

The Sunderland striker was recalled for the first time in more than three years ahead of last week's friendly with Germany and today's World Cup with Lithuania.

Defoe, 34, marked his first international appearance since November 2013 with the opening goal as the Three Lions defeated Lithuania 2-0 at Wembley and his positive impression was certainly left on Southgate and the squad.

"It's a great moment for him," Southgate said of Defoe, who was named Man of the Match.

"He was thrilled to be back involved in the squad, I think he has enjoyed his week immensely.

"He's been a good senior professional to have around the team, both in terms of the way he's trained, his professionalism, which has been great for some of the younger players to see, and his finishing in training and then today, which we expected really.

"I would have put my house on him scoring at some stage today, so I think he's had a really positive impact on everybody."