Ross Barkley never doubted he would return to the England fold.

Barkley took advantage of a substitute appearance In Monday's 5-1 win over Montenegro in the Euro2020 qualifiers by scoring and assisting twice.

The Chelsea midfielder was left out of Gareth Southgate's squad for the World Cup, but never doubted he would make his return.

"It was my best ­performance for England. I came up with the two goals and had a hand in a ­couple of the goals - but I felt I could have played better," Barkley said.

"We can all improve. We are not in the game to accept where we are at. We have to ­improve at club level - and at ­international level there is a lot of room for ­improvement.

"I never thought I would not play for my country. We all go through ­difficult spells. But I am just believing in ­myself now and having ­confidence.

"My focus is to add ­something to the side - the future is really bright. You see how the young players have performed and how good they are - Declan Rice, Jadon Sancho and ­Callum Hudson-Odoi. They were frightening in training. It's great to be part of it."