Sven Goran-Eriksson faced an internal revolt from his England players after deciding to pick Theo Walcott over Jermain Defoe for the 2006 World Cup.
Eriksson was in charge of the Three Lions from 2001 to 2006, leading England at two World Cups – but it was his selection decision for the second tournament which turned heads. Walcott was just 17 years old and was yet to make his senior debut for Arsenal when he was surprisingly selected by Eriksson.
The Swede chose to take the “gamble” instead of taking the much more established Defoe, who travelled to Germany as a stand-by player before returning home when Wayne Rooney was passed fit. Defoe was furious with the decision, with Rooney recovering from a fractured toe and Michael Owen also not fully fit.
Speaking to Troy Deeney on the BBC's Football Firsts podcast, Defoe said: “The boys said to me ‘JD, please go and speak to the boss. Tell him you have to go’. Because Theo hadn't even played a Premier League game. The only thing that got me through that summer – because that was tough, man, I was hurt - was just seeing England fans [saying] 'Jermain should have been going.’
“It was nice, that was the only thing that got me through it and I actually travelled. I was on stand-by, but the manager wanted me to travel, to be around the squad. I remember, it was the sharpest and fittest I felt all season.”
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Walcott did not get onto the pitch at the 2006 World Cup as England were knocked out in quarter-finals against Portugal, but Eriksson stood by his decision at the time, stating: “Jermain had a very bad season. I don't think he deserved to go to the World Cup. Taking Theo was the right decision.”
He has stuck by his guns to this day, too. Asked on Sky Sports’ Monday Night Football programme in March 2020 if he stuck with his Walcott decision, Eriksson said: “Alternative was Defoe. He was not regular at that time.” He added: “If you don’t have a clear one (pick), then why don’t you take a young, talented one? Because the player picked as number 23 will not win the World Cup for you, for sure.”
Theo Walcott did not play at the 2006 World Cup for England (Shaun Botterill/Getty Images)Jamie Carragher responded: “I was in that squad. But there’s no doubt in the squad, when it gets picked, players talk about who is in the squad and who has missed out. It was a big surprise that Theo Walcott was in it because he hadn’t played for Arsenal.”
Defoe was snubbed for that tournament but did score 20 goals in 57 appearances for England. By contrast, Walcott managed just eight goals in 47 games for his country as he largely failed to live up to his early hype at Arsenal.
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