MX23RW : Monday, July 1 18:00:21| >> :120:20285:20285:

On This Day: Theo Walcott becomes England's youngest international

On This Day: Theo Walcott becomes England's youngest international
© Reuters
The 17-year-old had yet to even make his league debut for Arsenal

Theo Walcott became England's youngest international in a 3-1 friendly victory over Hungary at Old Trafford on this day in 2006.

Introduced as a substitute, replacing Michael Owen in the 65th minute, the forward, aged 17 years and 75 days, beat Wayne Rooney's previous record of 17 years and 111 days.

Walcott had yet to even make his league debut for Arsenal, having joined the Gunners from Southampton.

In their penultimate warm-up game ahead of the 2006 World Cup, England saw a penalty from Frank Lampard saved just before half-time.

Steven Gerrard and John Terry headed in from David Beckham free-kicks as England scored twice in three minutes early in the second half.

Hungary skipper Pal Dardai pulled one back from long range, before Peter Crouch added a late third for Sven-Goran Eriksson's side.

Walcott was a shock selection by Eriksson for the 2006 World Cup squad, but did not play in Germany, where England were knocked out in the quarter-finals by Portugal.

Theo Walcott celebrates after scoring for England against Croatia
Theo Walcott went on to become the youngest England player to score a hat-trick in the win over Croatia (Owen Humphreys/PA)

In September 2008, Walcott became the youngest England player to score a hat-trick in the 4-1 win over Croatia in Zagreb – but was a surprise omission from Fabio Capello's squad for the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.

A serious knee injury saw Walcott ruled out of contention for the 2014 World Cup, and his last England appearance came in a friendly against Spain during November 2016.

Walcott left Arsenal to join Everton in January 2018, before returning to the Saints, initially on loan ahead of a permanent move ahead of next season.

ID:449517: cacheID:449517:1false2false3false:QQ:: from db desktop :LenBod:restore:5219:
Restore Data
Share this article now:
A general shot of a Premier League football ahead of the Premier League clash between Everton and West Ham United at Goodison Park on October 30, 2016
Read Next:
Hege Riise explains absence of Northern Ireland players
>
Read more about Theo Walcott Football
rhs 2.0
Euro 2024 fixtures header
Monday, July 1
 
8pm
Tuesday, July 2
 
8pm
Friday, July 5
 
5pm
Quarter-Finals
Spain
vs.
Germany
Saturday, July 6
 
5pm
Tuesday, July 9
Wednesday, July 10
Sunday, July 14
Tables header RHS

Group A

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Germany Germany32107
Q Switzerland Switzerland31205
3 Hungary Hungary31023
4 Scotland flag Scotland30121

Group B

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Spain Spain33009
Q Italy Italy31114
3 Croatia Croatia30212
4 Albania national flag Albania30121

Group C

TeamPWDLPTS
Q England flag England31205
Q Denmark Denmark30303
Q Slovenia Slovenia30303
4 Serbia Serbia30212

Group D

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Austria Austria32016
Q France France31205
Q Netherlands Netherlands31114
4 Poland Poland30121

Group E

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Romania Romania31114
Q Belgium Belgium31114
Q Slovakia Slovakia31114
4 Ukraine Ukraine31114

Group F

TeamPWDLPTS
Q Portugal Portugal32016
Q Turkey Turkey32016
Q Georgia Georgia31114
4 Czech Republic Czech Republic30121


Sports Mole provides in-depth previews and predictions for every match from the biggest leagues and competitions in world football.
Argentina's Lionel Messi kisses the World Cup trophy after collecting the Golden Ball award on December 18, 2022Sign up for our FREE daily preview newsletter direct to your inbox!