With Wayne Rooney a serious injury doubt, Roy Hodgson could ask Walcott to lead the line for his country for the first time on Friday when England host Estonia in their penultimate Euro 2016 qualifier.
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England may have punched their ticket to Euro 2016, but it’s Estonia that still has a shot at qualifying.
Everyone knows I want to play up front.
Speaking about England’s current side, King told reporters, “I think there’s good youth in the squad at the moment, obviously previous tournaments were disappointing but I believe the players would have learned a lot from that and going to the Euros feeling encouraged about the possibility of going far in the tournament”.
Vardy’s form may also convince Hodgson to give him a go on Friday as the City striker is the Premier League’s top scorer, having netted seven times in his first eight league games, and has scored in his last five appearances.
When pushed to concede that racking up 10 qualifying wins would be a commendable feat, Hart remained unmoved, adding: “I don’t see it being that great an achievement unless we go on and do well in the tournament in the summer”.
The England medical team will assess the striker’s condition through the week before making a decision regarding his participation in the game on Friday.
It encapsulated an effervescent display, arguably Walcott’s finest in an Arsenal jersey, and set the standard to which he must now adhere if Wenger is to persist with the 26-year-old in his favoured central striking role at club level. “He said ‘no, I’m not saying that”. “That’s where I want to be and now I want to bring my Arsenal form into England”.
“I don’t think anyone in the game would say a bad word about him. It has been well documented that I have wanted to play up front and Arsene has given me the opportunity which is great”, Walcott said.
“I am very proud to have him as my captain”.
Danny Ings and Jonjo Shelvey also missed the training session and could all sit out the Estonia clash.
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Hart, who is desperate to play in both games but is expected to be rested for the trip to Lithuania, insists the only people who can change the woeful record of failure are the players themselves.
