Terry praise for Walcott

England captain lauds hat-trick hero

Last updated: 11th September 2008

John Terry England training

Terry: Walcott praise

Theo has given the manager a big problem now.

John Terry
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John Terry believes Theo Walcott has given England manager Fabio Capello a selection headache after his hat-trick heroics in Zagreb.

Arsenal forward Walcott netted three times to help England to a 4-1 World Cup 2010 qualification victory over Croatia on Wednesday night.

Prior to the game there had been speculation that Walcott, who started in England's first qualifier against Andorra on Saturday, faced competition for his place.

Capello was thought to be considering the experience of David Beckham, but Terry believes it will now be very difficult to drop 19-year-old Walcott for the next game against Kazakhstan on 11th October.

"He has been brilliant all week," Terry told Sky Sports News.

"He has come out of his shell in this (the England) strip. In the Andorra game he was great in the first half.

"And he has come here and set the game alight, not only with his goals but with his work-rate for the team.

"He has given the manager a big problem now."

And Terry's England and Chelsea colleague Frank Lampard was equally impressed by Walcott.

"He was great from start to finish and gave us a real dimension," added Lampard.

"To score three goals like he did was some performance."

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