By Stephen Darwin
It's taken a while, but at long last it actually feels good to be English again. Capello and his team made the considerably daunting task of beating Croatia in Zagreb look like a proverbial stroll in the park and young Theo proved that there is actually more to his game than just electrifying pace. I must admit I really didn’t feel Walcott had enough in his locker to succeed on the international stage although as well as silencing his numerous critics, the Arsenal man may just have brought an end to the international career of one of England’s finest wide midfielders.
I’m talking about David Beckham ofcourse and you may feel I’m on another galaxy by saying this but surely it’s time for Capello to call time on the former Manchester United midfielder’s career in an England shirt. With Theo Walcott and David Bentley, England have two accomplished attacking wide players who are both relatively young and full of potential. By the time the World Cup comes around in 2010, Beckham will be 35-years-old and it therefore makes sense for England’s Italian manager to look to the future to ensure we have a team that is ready to challenge in South Africa and beyond.
Beckham’s ability to deliver the perfect cross is a noticeably powerful weapon to have in the England armoury but realistically he is only a short term solution and is the ability to cross a ball really enough in this day and age? In my opinion, Capello needs to continue the policy of blooding England’s young hopefuls, like Walcott, in an attempt to not only build up the confidence of the players themselves but to also build up the confidence that the fans have in their ability to perform.
Talking about confidence, there is no better example of a player that thrives on it than Walcott. Arsene Wenger clearly has a great deal of faith in Theo’s ability and the 19-year-old’s heroics last night will go further to convincing the Arsenal boss that the former Southampton star is worthy of a place in the Gunners starting eleven. If Walcott can nail down a regular position in the Arsenal team over the next couple of years, he will have self belief in abundance and we may just have one of the most exciting talents in world football donning the famous Three Lions shirt come South Africa 2010.
To conclude, although I can’t admit that England’s latest performance was pleasing on the eye, my ears most certainly enjoyed what they were hearing as the action unfolded last night – and Walcott played his part quite remarkably. Capello’s decision to throw the teenager in at the deep end was ambitious and somewhat of a gamble but it has undoubtedly paid dividends for the Italian thus far. 105 caps is a terrific innings for David Beckham although is it fair to say that his England career is really coming to an abrupt end? And although Walcott was magnificent against the ten men of Croatia, is it conceivable to suggest that the 19-year-old is capable of consistently replicating the magic he produced last night?
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