Walcott upbeat about England´s future

Theo Walcott insists the future is bright for England, despite experiencing yet more penalty heartbreak at Euro 2012.

The 23-year-old winger played a prominent role as a substitute in the tournament, but saw his and the Three Lions’ dreams ended by Italy on Sunday night.

However, Walcott believes there are positives to be taken from the tournament, especially the lessons learnt by the squad’s younger members.

“We have to have our heads raised up high and we have got to look forward to the World Cup qualifiers coming up soon,” he said.

“We’ll have a good break, and everyone deserves it, but a lot of experience was learnt in that game against Italy, especially for the young players.

“A lot of players have made names for themselves in this tournament and that’s all we can do. We’ve got to look for the positives and learn from the negatives.”

Manager Roy Hodgson had just six weeks to drill his squad in preparation for the tournament, and Walcott believes that the Three Lions can now push on under his guidance.

“We will be stronger, we can only get better and better,” he said.

“We had a short time with Roy being the manager and now we can look forward to the (World Cup) qualifiers.

“But everyone needs to just rest and relax because it’s going to be a tough season. We’ve got some tough games in the qualifiers.”