THEO WALCOTT wants to make it impossible for Fabio Capello to leave him out of England’s Euro 2012 squad by producing his best form on a consistent basis during the next eight months.
Walcott was a surprise inclusion in Sven-Goran Eriksson’s 2006 World Cup squad as a 17-year-old, but was overlooked by Capello for last summer’s tournament in South Africa.
Shaun Wright-Phillips and Aaron Lennon were chosen as wide men in preference to the Arsenal player.
Capello’s policy of selecting players in form will act as a massive carrot this season for Walcott.
He helped England qualify via the 2-2 draw in Montenegro on Friday evening, despite Wayne Rooney being sent off, thanks to goals from Ashley Young and Darren Bent.
Walcott, one of four changes from the home win over Wales, said: “I think firstly you’ve got to play well for your club and the manager will pick players on form.
“That is evident – as well as ensuring you are not injured as well.
“As a result I’m not going to look too far ahead after what happened to me a couple of years ago (missing out on the World Cup).
“Getting the balance between youth and experience is difficult in the modern game and the manager has managed to do that.
“It is a good carrot to keep your form going knowing what is coming at the end of the season.
“But firstly I’m going to be concentrating on Arsenal after the poor start we’ve had.”
England once again showed how much of a threat they pose away from home on the counter-attack, and they picked up 10 points from their four away gqualifying games in contrast to the efforts against Montenegro, Switzerland and Wales at Wembley.
