He made his debut at just 15 years 175 days for Southampton and arrived at Arsenal as the most expensive teenage footballer in British football.

At just 16 Theo Walcott was the next big superstar. The little man who would be a future Premier League and England star.

He even went to the 2006 World Cup with England, despite having not actually played for the Gunners senior side. However in the years that have followed he has struggled for fitness and form.

Regular

His biggest moment in football so far was undoubtedly his hattrick for England in the 4-1 victory over Croatia in 2008. When he scored that hattrick I couldn’t help thinking here we go he will now grab a regular place in the England side.

Here is the answer to all England’s problems o…

A Chinese factory ordered to stop producing mascots for the World Cup due to allegations of sweatshop conditions defended itself Wednesday, saying its facilities were among the best in China.

Global Brands Group, the master licensee for all FIFA World Cup 2010 merchandise, said Tuesday it had withdrawn manufacturing approval for the Shanghai Fashion Plastic Products after an audit showed standards had been flouted.

The Global Brands Group investigated the factory, which produced figures of the tournament s dreadlocked leopard mascot Zakumi, following reports that it employed teenage workers, ran 13-hour shifts and paid just three dollars a day.

Considering China s actual conditions the environment in our factory, if not the best, is very good indeed, a company …

Real Madrid great Raul went out a winner as his New York Cosmos clinched the Soccer Bowl with a 3-2 win over the Ottawa Fury.

The 38-year-old, a multiple La Liga and Champions League winner with Real, played a full game in the Cosmos win.

Raul set up his side s third goal with a delicate flick as Gaston Cellerino completed his hat-trick and wrapped up the Cosmos win.

Victory marked the Cosmos second North American Soccer League (NASL) Soccer Bowl title, adding to their 2013 triumph.

While Raul was the man of the moment, Cellerino was the undoubted hero as he delivered for the Cosmos, who also sent out Marcos Senna a winner.

He opened the scoring in the eighth minute.

Cellerino kept his feet under pressure from the Ottawa defence and scored…

Steven Gerrard is heading back to Australia, headlining a star-studded Liverpool legends side to play a Socceroos legends outfit in Sydney in January next year.

Former Liverpool captain Gerrard, 35, will lead an all-stars squad featuring the likes of Jamie Carragher, Ian Rush, Dietmar Hamann and Luis Garcia for the clash at ANZ Stadium on January 7.

Gerrard, who made more than 500 appearances for Liverpool in a glittering Premier League career, is making a return Down Under after he was part of the Liverpool side that beat Melbourne Victory 2-0 at the MCG in 2013.

It will be great to play with the official Liverpool FC Legends, Gerrard, now an MLS star with LA Galaxy, said.

The squad looks like it’s a great set of lads, it ll be good to get on the pi…

Germany made a comfortable start to their World Cup qualifying campaign as early goals from Leon Goretzka and Kai Havertz paved the way for a 3-0 win over Iceland.

News of Joachim Low s upcoming departure after the Euros dominated the build-up to Germany s Group J opener, though a vibrant performance proved the quality the outgoing boss has at his disposal heading into his final tournament.

Goretzka and Havertz had Germany 2-0 up after just seven minutes – the quickest Die Mannschaft have been two goals ahead in a competitive match since May 1969, when Gerd Muller and Wolfang Overath struck against Cyprus.

In-form Ilkay Gundogan arrowed in his 13th goal of 2021 for club and country midway through the second half, wrapping up a convincing triumph.

A…

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer felt Manchester United should have been awarded a penalty in their 2-1 Champions League loss to Young Boys, but blamed the defeat on a lack of concentration.

United appeared to be heading for a routine victory when Cristiano Ronaldo, who matched former Real Madrid team-mate Iker Casillas record with his 177th Champions League appearance, put them ahead in the 13th minute.

The goal made Young Boys the 36th different side Ronaldo has scored against in the Champions League, a record he now shares with Lionel Messi.

However, the game turned when Aaron Wan-Bissaka received a straight red card late in the first half for his foul on Christopher Martins Pereira.

United saw another decision go against them when Ronaldo went down under the ch…

Wesley Sneijder has made his return to the Netherlands squad in place of injured PSV midfielder Georginio Wijnaldum.

Wijnaldum has withdrawn from the squad to face Estonia and Andorra in FIFA World Cup qualifiers due to an ankle complaint.

And Sneijder has stepped in, marking his first appearance in Louis van Gaal s squad since being dropped and stripped of the international captaincy in June.

Van Gaal also overlooked Sneijder for his squad to face Portugal in August, claiming the Galatasaray playmaker was lacking fitness.

The 29-year-old has made 93 appearances for his country, scoring 25 goals.

He played a pivotal role in taking the Netherlands to the FIFA World Cup final in 2010, with five goals in seven games, although he was unable to help his side to …

Bordeaux coach Laurent Blanc called on his players to seize the moment ahead of the second leg of their Champions League quarter-final with domestic rivals Lyon here on Wednesday.

Blanc s side trail 3-1 after a shaky defensive performance in the first leg in Lyon last week and must win either 2-0 or by three clear goals at their Stade Chaban-Delmas home to overturn the deficit.

The reigning French champions are undergoing their worst run of defeats under Blanc, having also lost 2-1 to Nancy in the league on Saturday and been beaten in the League Cup final last month by Marseille.

Blanc, though, insists his players are capable of rediscovering the form that made 2009 one of the most glittering years in the club s history.

If the players really want to ma…

Monaco are determined to ward off any interest in Kylian Mbappe after the teenage striker inspired a stunning Champions League victory over Manchester City.

Leonardo Jardim s Ligue 1 leaders were faced with a 5-3 deficit from the first leg at the Etihad Stadium but Mbappe was to the fore in a blistering opening – breaking the deadlock in the eighth minute and having another strike ruled out for offside.

Fabinho doubled Monaco s advantage and, although Leroy Sane briefly had City heading through on aggregate, Tiemoue Bakayoko s 77th-minute header sealed an unforgettable away goals triumph.

The thrilling nature of Monaco s progress to the quarter-finals will only boost Mbappe s stock as one of the most exciting youngsters in world football.

Anthony Martia…

According to reports in Italy, Arsenal are interested in signing Piotr Zielinski as a potential replacement for Aaron Ramsey. At this stage it s no secret that the Welshman is on the verge of leaving the club, and as such, they need to start looking ahead to the future and signing Zielinski could be a big part of their plans. The Polish midfielder has been a consistent force in the middle of the park for Napoli since signing back in 2016, and it s easy to imagine a scenario in which he makes the switch over to English football.

The reason for this is that he was heavily linked with a move to Liverpool, and it seemed as if it was pretty likely to happen until the plug was pulled. Now, though, with the Gunners being on the rise under the tutelage of Unai Emery, Zielinski could fi…