Walcott offers glimpse of future
Wednesday, August 16, 2006
Article summary
Teenager Theo Walcott took the first steps on Tuesday in his transition from a player with enormous potential to one with some substance behind his name.
Article body
Theo Walcott took the first steps last night in his transition from a player of enormous potential to one with some substance behind his name.
Unknown quantity
A goal three minutes into his England debut in the 2006/07 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualifier against Moldova removed some of the mystery from a 17-year-old who has been labelled as potentially the most exciting youngster his country has ever produced - but who has remained an unknown quantity for most English audiences.
Huge interest
He was named, controversially, in Sven-Göran Eriksson's FIFA World Cup finals squad but was then glued to the substitutes' bench throughout the Germany tournament despite injury concerns surrounding two of England's other strikers. At club level, there was huge interest in his reported €17.5m transfer from Southampton FC to Arsenal FC but he still awaits his first-team bow for the Gunners.
No rustiness
A virus meant Walcott had no pre-season outings prior to Tuesday's game at Ipswich Town FC. He last started a competitive match in January, his farewell appearance for Southampton. Yet no rustiness was apparent as he immediately climbed to head England into a 1-0 lead to become his country's youngest scorer at this level.
Chances
Walcott contributed little for the remainder of a first half increasingly dominated by the impressive Moldovans. Shifted to the left flank at the interval, he set up opportunities for Anton Ferdinand and David Nugent before fatigue brought about his substitution with an hour gone of a game that finished 2-2 to put England's chances of making the play-offs in doubt. They have one more fixture, a trip to Switzerland on 6 September, while Moldova receive the Swiss five days before.
'Tremendous goal'
England manager Peter Taylor was pleased with the teenager's contribution, saying: "Theo did very well. He scored a tremendous goal and is a very good lad to work with. He has great ability allied to great pace and I'm sure he enjoyed himself. At 17 he has many years in front of him at this level and what he needs now is matches for his club. He's working under a fantastic manager at Arsenal and I'm sure they will bring him on the right way."
