England 1-0 Israel
The FA International U17 Tournament
7pm, Friday 29 August 2008
London Road, Peterborough United FC
Click here for tournament details.
England U17s goal hero Jacob Walcott spoke of his joy at helping the Young Lions to a much deserved victory on Friday night.
The Reading forward, who was unfortunate not to score against Portugal on Wednesday, came on with just less than ten minutes to go against Israel at London Road and made the crucial breakthrough to secure a win for John Peacock’s team.
And now, Walcott is looking forward to taking on Italy on Sunday in the Tournament closer.
“It was good to come on and get the goal to win it, it’s a great feeling,” Walcott revealed to TheFA.com
“We kept on pressing and had a few chances in the first half, but we kept on defending well too as we’ve been doing in training and it paid off.”
There was much debate at London Road as to whether Walcott’s angled strike was deliberate or a deflected cross, but he was at odds to admit himself after no doubt being on the end of the dressing room jokers.
“After we were celebrating, a few of the lads were asking why I didn’t pull it back, but after I scored it doesn’t matter,” he laughed. “It’s only the result that counts.
“All of the boys are looking forward to Sunday now. We’re all geared up and the win today helps our momentum to take into the Italy game.”
Walcott, who was part of the U16s team which lifted the Victory Shield last year and also found the net earlier this summer in the Nordic Tournament, is now just concentrating on making the best impression he can to keep his place in the squad for the forthcoming European Championship qualifiers in Tenerife next month.
“It’s a great feeling to be called up for England, so I’ve just got to keep playing well for my club and hopefully I can keep my place in the team,” he added.