England striker Theo Walcott praised his fellow teammate Ross Barkley after their 2-0 victory over Estonia, saying the Everton midfielder had given a dreamperformance in their Euro 2016 qualifying win at Wembley.
Barkley delivered a man of the match performance at Wembley, providing a brilliant 15-yard diagonal pass to Walcott for Englands first goal, and constantly terrorising the Estonian defence throughout the match.
After the game, Walcott was eager to shower praise on the 21-year-old Everton player.
It was the perfect ball. If it had been just a tad later than I would have been offside. But Ross [Barkley] spots things like that. And not just that, but his whole performance tonight was a dream to be a part of, he said.
Hes started very brightly for Everton and hes earned his opportunity [with England]. And he took it with both hands tonight. The way he has the ball and keeps hold of it and his class on the ball when he spots a good pass – and not just that, defensively as well he gets into position. And hes a strong lad, a big lad, very young, very hungry and everything seemed to click with him tonight.
And its not one-offs. Weve seen it a lot this year. And if he can stay fit on a consistent basis well see an improvement in that Im sure, added Walcott.
The win at Wembley means England continue their 100% record in qualifying, with nine wins out of nine. The Three Lions head into their final Euro 2016 qualifier away to Lithuania on 12 October knowing that qualification for France next year has already been assured.
Fellow British side Northern Ireland also qualified for the tournament after winning 3-1 against Greece, with Wales likely to join them if they manage a point in either of their final two qualifying games against Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Andorra.
