07/09/2013
Theo Walcott insists England will be ruthless in their crucial FIFA World Cup™ qualifier against Ukraine on Tuesday. Roy Hodgson's team moved to the top of European Group H on goal difference with a 4-0 win over Moldova at Wembley on Friday.
England have a game in hand on second placed Montenegro and are one point ahead of third placed Ukraine, meaning a victory in Kiev would put them firmly on course to qualify for next year's finals in Brazil. Some pundits expect England to adopt a safety-first defensive approach in the Olympic Stadium, but Arsenal winger Walcott, expected to start on Tuesday, says that would be the wrong thing to do.
"We always go in to games trying to win them. We don't want to go out there and try to get a draw. That's when we could be caught on the break," Walcott said. "We have a lot of pace in this team. They will have to come at us and I think that could work in our favour."
Kiev holds fond memories for Walcott as the city played host to the stunning volley he scored against Sweden at UEFA EURO 2012.
He is looking forward to going back to the Ukrainian capital, but is aware that the hosts will be desperate to secure another victory having boosted their goal difference with a 9-0 win over San Marino on Friday.
"It's going to be really nice looking for that goal again and I go there feeling very confident as do the team as well," Walcott said. "That was a great occasion for myself scoring that night but I need to concentrate on getting the points now on Tuesday. They did very well on Friday. They scored nine goals so they will go in to the match on a positive note."
