Kyle Walker started his first game for England at Wembley last night and arguably sealed the second man of the match award for Tottenham players in two international games.
After Scott Parker shone against the Spaniards, Walker adopted that old footballing cliché of showing ‘maturity beyond his years’ as he battles for a place in the squad and maybe even a starting berth at Euro 2012.
At the end of the game, Walker played down his contribution.
“We’re all in the manager’s thoughts and I hope we’re there in the summer,” he said.
“I just want to go out there and play football – what I enjoy doing.”
Meanwhile, manager Capello praised Walker’s performance along with other young players’ contributions on the night.
“It’s important to beat Sweden after 43 years but it was more important to see Jones, Rodwell and Walker play against a team which is really organised and difficult to play against,” he said
“The answer that I received from the performance is really important for me. And these three players played really well.”
It may not secure a starting place for Walker but his place on the plane to Euro 2012 must now be assured.
Fantstic. Really pleased for Walker and Parker. Great for England too.
I think “…his place on the plane to Euro 2012 must now be assured.” is a little premature. There are five players in the hunt for the right-back slot – Walker is one of them. Purely based on his performance last night he’s as good as any but versatility is crucial and most of the other contenders can play in at least one other position.
If it comes down to it, you’d have to pick a player who can offer more versatility (Jones, Smalling) over one who is still a little short defensively and who can’t play anywhere else.
We think Nikolai is a Manure fan :^P
1. How is it possible to mis-spell something that is on your screen?!
2. I’m sure loads of Man U fans visit Spurs sites, just for something to do on a Wednesday morning…
There is no doubt that Phil Jones is an excellent player but if we are to play a 4-2-3-1 or possibly 4-3-3 that Capello has applied recently, we need naturally attacking full backs to support the forward play. Phil Jones is most certainly not a natural, attacking full back.