Walcott Lights Up Croatia

When England brought Theo Walcott to Germany it was considered a mistake. That may seem funny now that Walcott could be bringing England to South Africa.

England travelled to Zagreb on Wednesday, hoping to bury the demons from last November's match at Wembley, where a 3-2 loss to Croatia knocked them out of Euro 2008. They ended up burying the Croats, 4-1, in what was a testy match. The game was played pretty even up until Walcott collected a lucky, errant bounce off a Croat defender, and confidently fired a shot along the ground to the far side of the goal, just under the outstretched arm of Stipe Pletikosa.

With so much pressure on England coming into this match, you would think they would be the prime candidates for losing their cool. But Fabio Capello had his squad composed and confident, and it was the Croats who seemed to come unravelled after the first England goal. Walcott followed his goal with another identical looking shot, but this time Pletikosa was up to the challenge, steering it wide for a corner. Minutes later Croatia received a yellow card for taking Theo down on a forward run.

The frustration of the home side was evident at the start of the second half. They look harried and they contested each whistle blown against them. In the 53rd minute, Robert Kovac earned himself a red card for a flying challenge over Joe Cole, which left the Chelsea winger bloodied.
Soon after England capitalized on 10 man Croatia, with a beautiful build up, involving Emile Heskey and Wayne Rooney. Rooney finished with a hard pass to the right, where Theo Walcott was waiting to calmly slot another ball to the far side of the goal, in what looked like a replay of his first goal.

With the extra man, England heaped on the pressure. Rooney would add his own goal on a blast from the penalty area after a fine pass from Jermaine Jenas on his left. Croat fans began to pour out of the stadium as their side's fate looked inevitable. Croatia would get one back in the 78th, as substitute, Mario Mandzukic, capitalized on some sloppy England defense with a goal from close range.

Walcott would add a fourth England goal, completing his hat trick in 82nd minute, before being taken off for David Beckham. Rooney once again led Walcott on the ball, and one on one with the goalkeeper, Theo took his time and easily slid one past.


Walcott
The best player on the pitch today was Wayne Rooney, as he a big role in every goal, collecting two assists along with his first England goal in ages. But it was Walcott who ascended up the England ranks with his performance. The young Arsenal winger had his Michael Owen moment for England on Wednesday. However, it wasn't Owen, but a former Arsenal striker that Theo reminded us of as he neatly placed three goals in Zagreb.

There was a time when Thierry Henry was a young talented winger from France who stepped into a striker's role for Arsenal and became the most prolific scorer in the world. While it is too early to predict that for Walcott, the young Englishman seemed effortless in each of his three scores. We've seen Henry do it a hundred times. He deftly slides past defenders and ends with a cool finish. For Walcott, it was this Henry-like composure that stood out in Wednesday's match.

Beckham has to wonder if there is a place in the side for him now that Walcott has emerged as the favorite on the right. I would be happy to see Beckham in a role alongside Gerrard in the midfield, acting as a distributor and midfield fulcrum. Either way, things are looking bright for Capello's boys after tonight's triumph.

(One last thought, is Capello some kind of stern robot man? He did not flinch after each of the first three England goals. And on the fourth, he looked like he wanted to celebrate, but would be violating some kind of inner protocol if he did so. Someone please confirm my suspicions.)