England boss Gareth Southgate has described Kyle Walker as a "fantastic athlete" following his successful experiment to use the defender as part of a back three against the Netherlands.

The Manchester City ace has built up a reputation as being one of the finest right-backs around, having pushed on at Manchester City following his £50m switch from Tottenham Hotspur last year.

Walker was used on the right side of a three-man backline at the Amsterdam ArenA on Friday night, however, and he impressed in the 1-0 win with his ability to pass the ball out from the back.

Asked about his defensive switch, Southgate told Sky Sports News: "He has the attributes to play the position really well. You need players that are comfortable at defending in wide areas and used to using the ball in those areas.

"He's a fantastic athlete, so he added more pace to our defence. When I see him play for Manchester City, he ends up in that area anyway - we knew his relationship with John Stones is one that is worked on daily, so we knew it would be a strength."

Jesse Lingard scored the only goal of the game in Amsterdam to extend England's unbeaten run to seven matches.