QPR faithful will surely love latest England, Thomas Tuchel exploits | OneFootball

Ex-Hoops man Eberechi Eze bagged his first goal for the Three Lions on Monday night

It has been a good few years since QPR academy graduate Eberechi Eze left Loftus Road for Crystal Palace, but the swathes of R's fans who still hold the 26-year-old close to their hearts will have watched on proudly as he netted his first goal for England in Monday's 2026 World Cup qualifier against Latvia.

Greenwich-born Eze was a naturally talented young player who spent the early years of his first steps to becoming a professional with Arsenal, but he was released by the Gunners at the age of 13, and instead spent time in the academies of Fulham, Reading and Millwall as he struggled to prove his abilities with numerous clubs.

It was QPR who took a punt on him in 2016 after he was released by the Lions, and their gamble proved to be one of the best success stories in the club's recent history, as Eze grew into one of the best players in the Championship and eventually joined Premier League outfit Crystal Palace for a hefty transfer fee in 2020.

Nearly five years on, the attacking midfielder is a top-flight regular with the Eagles, and was included as part of England's Euro 2024 squad last summer as a reward for his standout performances for the Selhurst Park club.

He was called up to Thomas Tuchel's first Three Lions camp earlier this month, and Hoops supporters would have been immensely pleased to watch on as he bagged his maiden goal for his country to cap off a routine qualifying win.

QPR's 2016 gamble on Eberechi Eze proved to be a masterstroke

Eze went on trial with QPR after being released by Millwall in 2016, and despite his desire to make it as a professional being questioned at previous clubs, the Hoops soon snatched him up after technical director Chris Ramsey was impressed by his obvious technical ability.

His call to sign the then-18-year-old is one that has helped the R's massively both on and off the pitch in the nearly nine years since. It did not take long for Eze to become a regular at Loftus Road in the Championship, after a beneficial loan spell at Wycombe Wanderers in the first half of 2017/18.

He took the Hoops' number 10 shirt ahead of the 2018/19 season, and became a real force under Steve McClaren in numerous different positions, before finally making the attacking midfield spot his own in 2019.

Eze won plaudits throughout his time at QPR for his exciting, fearless style of play, and his final campaign at the club saw him register 14 goals and eight assists in 46 second-tier appearances as he fully emerged as one of England's brightest young talents.

He won the club's Supporters Player of the Year award and was named in the PFA Championship Team of the Year at the end of that term, and soon sealed his move to capital rivals Palace for an initial £16 million fee with a 20% sell-on clause inserted, amid reported interest from Spurs, Sheffield United and Southampton.

Eze has gone from strength-to-strength at Palace - he is now an England goalscorer

Eze's brilliance has been on show for the world to see over the last five years at Palace, and he has registered double figures in goals in the last two full Premier League seasons at Selhurst Park.

His impressive 2023/24 campaign saw him fire the Eagles to their highest league finish in nine years under Oliver Glasner, with their joint-highest points total ever in the Premier League, and he garnered transfer interest from the likes of Manchester City and Spurs throughout the summer window.

Palace have never been set to let their star man depart easily, however, and their reported price-tag of around £80m was enough to keep the 26-year-old at the club for another season. Eze has not quite reached his previous heights this time around, but the last week has been special for both him and QPR as a real marker of just how far he has come in his career from nearly quitting the game altogether in 2016.

Thomas Tuchel moved to name Eze in his first Three Lions squad for England's first 2026 World Cup qualifiers against Albania and Latvia, and after he remained on the bench against the former, he was called upon to make his mark against the latter as a second-half substitute for Jarrod Bowen on Monday night.

His impact was clear, with England in need of some fresh impetus and flair to take the game away from the Latvians, and it took him 15 minutes to finish the game off in front of a huge Wembley crowd.

The Palace man picked up the ball on the left side of the final third, sent the opposing right-back one way and turned the other, then cut inside onto his right foot and fired home via a deflection for his first England goal in his tenth cap for his country.

Eze has come a seriously long way in his nearly nine years in professional football, and his recent Instagram post of his maiden Three Lions goal with the caption of 'Journey 🌪️' is no doubt a nod to those that have helped him along the way to get to this point.

QPR were certainly a major part of his journey to the top of the game, and all connected with the club will be proud to see him making a name for himself on the international stage, with plenty more huge moments surely set to come throughout the rest of his career.