Walcott calls time on Beckham era

Chris HATHERALL

Theo Walcott’s stunning hat-trick against Croatia may have ensured that David Beckham will never make another start for England. The Arsenal teenager was handed his slot on the right at the expense of 33-year-old Beckham and manager Fabio Capello’s judgement was vindicated by his three-goal display in a memorable 4-1 win.

Beckham did come on in the closing minutes of the match to win his 105th cap, moving him level with Billy Wright as the joint fourth most capped player for his country.

Four more cameo appearances would take Beckham past Bobby Moore’s 108 caps and make him the most capped outfield player in the country’s history (goalkeeper Peter Shilton holds the overall record with 125 caps). But the LA Galaxy midfielder’s chances of reclaiming a starting spot look slim, partly as a result of some advice he gave Walcott ahead of Wednesday night’s match.

“Becks told me to be a bit more greedy in the box, then afterwards he said I was probably too greedy!” Walcott said.“He has been absolutely brilliant to me and he just gave me so much confidence. He’s given me praise and it’s unbelievable coming from David. I watched him when I was younger. To train with him, to be around him, to talk to him just spurs me on and gives me a big lift.” Walcott also revealed that he had played the match with one stud missing. “I played with one less stud, my boot went to bits and I was going to change but the boots wouldn’t have suited me,” said Walcott. “The lads said they were glad.

“The whole team were brilliant, we showed to the whole of England how strong we are. Hopefully we’ll carry on doing that.”

ZAGREB, Thursday AFP