charles
Graham Fisher
Andrew Aigner-Muehler
LukeS
HardyCroatia 1-4 England: Walcott hat-trick
September 11th 2008 03:55
Theo Walcott comes of age
It has been a very long time since the supporters of the England national team have had something to cheer about but Fabio Capello's men turned on the style to avenge their two costly losses against Croatia in the qualifiers for Euro 2008 by thumping the home side 4-1 at the Maksimir Stadium.
Arsenal youngster Theo Walcott grabbed all the headlines with a hat-trick in only his second start for England while Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney finally ended his much-publicised 11-month goal drought for the national side with the side's third goal.
Just a few days ago, voices of discontent began to circle Fabio Capello after a lame 2-2 draw against the Czech Republic and an unconvincing 2-0 win over part-timers Andorra in the first qualifier. Time after time, Capello urged patience and that everything would fall into place..and boy it did - in spectacular fashion - against Croatia, a side ranked as high as fifth in the world.
So what sprang England into life? What was done differently? First and foremost, the England players finally stood up for themselves. They played with confidence and some even replicated their club form for their country. Some would say the introduction of Theo Walcott on the right wing was a masterstroke, and it was in many respects, but let's not forget this lad is a striker and that is the position we will be seeing him in the future. Everything just fell into place for the 19 year-old against Croatia - his fortuitous opening goal spurred him on for the rest of the match but playing consistently for club and country is now the teenager's number one priority.
Some have already started writing David Beckham's England obituary on the back of Walcott's stunning hat-trick but like I have said many times before, write off 'Goldenballs' at your own peril. Yes, Beckham will never offer the type of pace and explosive play Walcott brings to the pitch but his experience and high-quality deliveries from set-pieces means that he will be useful to the squad for sometime yet.
And let's not forget Croatia were playing with 10 men for most of the second half - the score was only 1-0 before Kovac deservedly got himself sent off. It was only after gaining a numerical advantage that England started really dominating the match with players such as Rooney exploiting the extra space. As such, the 4-1 scoreline is in fact a bit flattering and certainly unreflective of what might have been had Croatia had 11 men on the pitch for the full 90 minutes.
But hey, it was about time England had some luck.
So where to now for Capello and his men? Provided the starting 11 remains healthy between now and the next batch of qualifiers, will the Italian retain the same players or will he risk disrupting the midfield by slotting Steven Gerrard back into the side, and at the expense of whom?
With Rooney and Heskey seemingly linking up okay, will this partnership be given extra time to flourish or will Michael Owen be recalled once he is 'match fit'?
Some food for thought for Capello but after two wins from two matches, he will be happy to have this sort of dilemma.
[Video Source: Fliggo]
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Comment by Anonymous
Comment by Ann 2
Muzikal Mafia
Canadiens Watch
Football Slate
To Anonymous above, no one ever said that Becks was one of the greats yet there were always expectations for him to be so. Is he England's best player? Of course not. But can any English player be as precise as he is on corners and set-pieces? No. Like it or not, he'll be there as long as England doesn't find someone better.
Comment by charles
FanFootball
ZCars
Ponderous
Walcott's display was brilliant and he is the future for England but everything fell into place for him against a lacklustre Croatia. He needs to play at a consistently high-level to make the right wing role his own.
Beckham isn't one of the sport's 'greats' and I never said he was. That's the thing with a lot of English footballers - they're overhyped and overrated, like Rooney for instance.
Strange you haven't pointed out others who have 'failed' on the biggest stage. Oh, that's right - that'd be most of the current starting 11