Euro 2012: Walcott joy after England rescue act

England boss reiterates belief in super-sub winger.

KIEV:

Theo Walcott praised England's attacking spirit after inspiring the fight back which helped his team to victory over Sweden.

He proved to be the decisive figure in a rollercoaster 3-2 win over the Swedes which left England needing only a point from their final Group D game against Ukraine on June 19 to advance to the quarter-finals.

"We always felt that we wanted to pick it up a bit more offensively and to score three goals is the main thing," said Walcott, who came on as a substitute in the 64th minute. "It's always nice to come off the bench and show what you can do. I've obviously been disappointed that I haven't started, but I've been training hard and it's not about the starting line-up, it's a whole squad thing.”

England manager Roy Hodgson, who earlier this month suggested Walcott had benefited from multiple chances to establish himself in the team, insisted he had never doubted the winger's ability. "I believed in him,” said Hodgson. “He's got good qualities. I was delighted with his performance.”

Rooney to return

Hodgson has vowed to pick Wayne Rooney for his side's crucial final group game against Ukraine next week.

“I was really pleased with the performance of Roy Carroll and Danny Welbeck but Rooney is a very special player and it would be very difficult for me to leave him out of the team. I'm afraid that if you're a member of a team that has Rooney sitting out  you probably expect him to get back in the team."

Benzema happy to end French drought

Meanwhile, Karim Benzema, who was the creator of both goals in France’s 2-0 win over Ukraine, helped France end a six-year wait for victory at a major tournament.

"We enjoyed ourselves and we didn't concede any goals," said the Real Madrid striker. “It's always nice to score, or to create a goal. It's not the same as a goal but it makes me happy because I like participating in the build-up."

France will play their last group game against Sweden on June 19.

Published In The Express Tribune, June 17^th, 2012.