Wondrous Walcott confounds Croatia
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
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Croatia 1-4 England
Teenage winger Theo Walcott struck a stunning hat-trick to ensure England ended Croatia's proud home unbeaten record in emphatic style.
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Tables turned
Croatia defeated England twice to beat them to a place at UEFA EURO 2008™ and had never lost a qualifier on their own territory since independence, but Walcott, winning only his fourth cap, opened his international account in the first half and, after Robert Kovač was sent off, the 19-year-old added another shortly before Wayne Rooney made it 3-0. Marijo Mandžukić pulled one back but Walcott was soon on target again to give England the early lead in FIFA World Cup qualifying Group 6.
Early efforts
England manager Fabio Capello opted to keep Walcott in the right-wing role he had filled in Saturday's 2-0 win against Andorra but the Arsenal FC man nearly gave away a goal in the third minute when he lost possession only for Danijel Pranjić to shoot straight at David James. The England goalkeeper then enjoyed a reprieve when he failed to clear a corner but Vedran Ćorluka was unable to take advantage.
Walcott strikes
Instead, the opening goal came at the other end when, from a Rooney pass, Pranjić's attempted clearance deflected off another blue shirt and into the path of Walcott, whose angled shot slipped under Stipe Pletikosa and into the far corner. Croatia had the better of the latter stages of the first half but within eight minutes of the restart were down to ten men when Kovač was dismissed for an elbow against Joe Cole, who was unable to continue and replaced by Jermaine Jenas.
Lead increased
Six minutes later England made their extra man count. A superb passing exchange between Frank Lampard, Emile Heskey and Rooney set up Walcott in the same position from which he had scored the first goal – with an identical result. Croatia were now struggling and were soon 3-0 down, Ashley Cole finding Jenas, who squared for Rooney to produce an emphatic finish.
Treble complete
Lampard had a further strike ruled out for a foul earlier in the move by Heskey, before Croatia pulled one back with 12 minutes left when Darijo Srna strode forward and sent Mandžukić clear to slide the ball past James. But Croatia's faint hopes of a fightback were soon extinguished when Rooney's incisive pass released Walcott who completed the first competitive hat-trick by an England player since Michael Owen's in the 5-1 win in Germany seven years ago.