Ashton heartbreak
Wonderboy Walcott breaks Under-21 record
Lively Wales held by Bulgaria
—– Dean Ashton is cruelly denied his England debut by a freak training ground injury.
The West Ham United striker was due to be named in Steve McClaren’s first starting line-up, against Greece at Old Trafford on Wednesday, but broke his left ankle as a training session came to a close.
He could be sidelined for over three months.
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—– Theo Walcott - the controversial selection for England’s World Cup squad in the summer - marks his Under-21 international debut with a goal inside three minutes.
At 17 years and 152 days, the Arsenal forward becomes the youngest scorer in England Under-21 history but, despite the perfect start, the young Lions are held by Moldova to a 2-2 draw in their opening Euro 2008 qualifying tie at Ipswich.
Peter Taylor retains his position of coach but, while the Under-21 regime is reviewed by Steve McClaren, it will be on a match-by-match basis.
—– In preparation for their opening Euro 2008 qualifying tie next month, Wales are held by Bulgaria in a lively goalless friendly draw at Swansea City’s Liberty Stadium.
Coach John Toshack experiments with a 4-4-2 line-up but later reverts to the 3-5-2 formation he is likely to use against the Czech Republic in the Euro 2008 opener in Teplice on 2 September.
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