Manchester United forward Wayne Rooney has heaped praise on his England team-mate Theo Walcott ahead of tomorrow's World Cup qualifier with Kazakhstan.

The Arsenal youngster burst onto the international scene with a magnificent hat-trick in England's 4-1 demolition of Croatia last month, but while the performance stunned the watching football world, Rooney was not surprised.

“Theo has made a big impact,” he said. “He's probably the quickest player I've ever seen and he's brought something different to the side.

“Against Andorra in the first half he was brilliant, creating chances for us, and against Croatia he was outstanding. He deserved his three goals. We'd seen what he could do in training but he was finally given the chance to play on the big stage and he produced for us.”

Walcott is likely to retain his place on the right for the match with Kazakhstan, with England looking to gain a stranglehold on Group Six.

[Guardian-Series]

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