Sweden face Walcott wrath

Published on Thursday 25 June 2009 10:08

THEO WALCOTT is ready to take his anger out on Sweden tomorrow after a European Under-21 Championships where he has played less than he would have liked.

As an established member of Fabio Capello's seniors, Walcott seemed guaranteed a starting place for Stuart Pearce's youngsters but was taken off after 45 minutes of their tournament opener, then was on the bench for an hour of the victory against Spain.

Next up is Sweden in the semi-finals in Gothenburg, with Walcott still upset and looking to make his mark again. "Against Spain, I took it out on the pitch and let my feet do the talking," he said. "People probably saw me around and about and I wasn't too happy, obviously, because I came here to play.

"If you are not disappointed there is something wrong. You've got to be angry coming on the pitch. You don't want to be too angry and get sent off but hopefully I'll be at it tomorrow."

Walcott added: "I just wanted to be shown a little bit of support for being here.

"But it was the manager's decision and it worked out to be the right one because we won the game in the end."